 Top US career diplomat to retire after year under Trump Washington (AFP) Feb 1, 2018 - The most senior career diplomat in the US State Department has decided to retire, exactly one year after he oversaw the transition to President Donald Trump's administration, he said Thursday. Thomas Shannon will retire as undersecretary of state for political affairs, after 35 years in which he served as an ambassador, an acting assistant secretary of state and, for two weeks last year, acting secretary of state. Shannon ran the State Department in the interim period between the departure of former president Barack Obama's secretary of state John Kerry and the arrival of Trump's nominee, Rex Tillerson, a period which was marked by reports of dissent among career staff. But, in a retirement letter to colleagues, the 60-year-old Shannon gave no hint of political dissatisfaction, describing his decision as "personal, and driven by a desire to attend to my family, take stock of my life, and set a new direction for my remaining years." "I want to express my profound gratitude to the secretary and the president for the privilege of serving at the highest levels of the department during this past year," he wrote. "I have had the honor of serving under six presidents and 10 secretaries of state. All have been extraordinary public servants and great Americans." In a statement, Tillerson praised Shannon for his counsel, which he said had been "well received over multiple administrations." "I particularly appreciate his depth of knowledge, the role he played during the transition -- as acting secretary of state during my confirmation and later as acting deputy secretary -- and his contributions to our strategy process over the past year." Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said Shannon's decision was a personal one and that Tillerson would have welcomed him staying on. "It's sad, but it's the decision of the undersecretary and we respect that decision," he said, briefing reporters on Tillerson's plane as the secretary embarked on a Latin American tour. The Trump administration has been slow at filling senior political posts at the State Department and many US diplomats and foreign envoys in Washington complain of chaos as the agency undergoes a re-organization. Shannon's departure could leave another hole in the upper echelons of US diplomacy, where 13 assistant secretary and undersecretary positions and dozens of ambassadorships remain unfilled and without nominees. Goldstein said Shannon had been invaluable during the transition and a "walking encyclopedia" of knowledge for Tillerson when the former oil executive holds Saturday morning policy meetings. The undersecretary, whose mother recently passed away, had promised to stay on a year after the handover and had done so -- and he will remain in place while his successor is designated.
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The United States' top diplomat kicked off his first major tour of Latin America on Thursday in Mexico, after setting out a vision for a free and prosperous Americas.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to better define US strategy in its own hemisphere as he headed to the United States's southern neighbor, a country that has been on the receiving end of some of his boss Donald Trump's fiercest barbs.
To lay the groundwork for his trip, he first gave a wide-ranging speech on the Trump administration's approach to the region.
Speaking at his alma mater, the University of Texas, Tillerson damned what he called the failed model of Venezuela's "corrupt and hostile" regime and urged Latin American countries to be wary of the United States's emerging rivals for regional influence, China and Russia.
In his first year in office, President Trump has decried free trade with Mexico, US detente with Cuba, and warned of the dangers of drug gangs and illegal immigration.
His attitude to the countries south of the Rio Grande might best be symbolized by his multi-billion-dollar efforts to build a wall across the US border with Mexico, to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs.
But Tillerson, who is often left with the task of explaining why Trump's "America First" slogan does not mean "America Alone," was keen to tout a more positive approach to relations.
"We share an interwoven history and chronology. Our nations still reflect the New World optimism of limitless discovery," he said.
"And importantly, we share democratic values, values that are the core of what we believe, regardless of the color of our passport."
In Mexico City, Tillerson was due to discuss security and immigration with top officials, and he warned of the need to fight violent drug cartels.
Trump made great play of this in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, when he cited crimes of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang to justify his hardline stance on immigration.
"The most immediate threat to our hemisphere are transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs," Tillerson said. "In their pursuit of money and power, TCOs leave death and destruction in their wake."
- Warns of 'imperial powers' -
Tillerson warned that China and Russia are assuming "alarming" roles in Latin America and urged regional powers to work with the US instead.
"Latin America doesn't need new imperial powers that seek only to benefit their own people," he said.
He also went on the offensive against the leftist government of Venezuela, once a rival center of influence for Latin American nations, now a political and economic basket case.
"The corrupt and hostile regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela clings to a false dream, an antiquated vision for the region that has already failed its citizens," Tillerson said.
He noted that the United States, Canada and European Union have imposed economic sanctions targeting Maduro loyalists seen as profiteers or human rights abusers.
He called on Latin America to do the same. The continent's major powers reject the regime, but are cautious about piling on more economic misery with Venezuela on the brink of chaos.
The United States has had a troubled relationship with much of Latin America where, during the Cold War, it placed Cuba under embargo and often supported dictatorial right-wing regimes against social reformers.
How the countries of South and Central America see their own future will be very important this year, with potentially defining polls in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
After the speech, the 65-year-old former oil executive flew to Mexico for a working dinner at the US ambassador's residence with Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, the acting head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration and senior Mexican legal and security officials.
On Friday he is to meet President Enrique Pena Nieto before heading to his next engagement at the Andean resort of Bariloche, Argentina, and then to Buenos Aires on Monday.
Before arriving back in Washington late on Wednesday, he is to visit Peru -- host of an upcoming Summit of the Americas -- as well as Colombia and Jamaica.
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