U.S. diplomat John Feeley announced Thursday he would resign from his post as ambassador to Panama, the same day President Donald Trump provoked controversy by reportedly demeaning immigrants from central America and “shithole countries” in Africa.
Contrary to some early speculation, Feeley tendered his resignation prior to Trump’s reported comments (which the president denies making). A State Department official told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Feeley had made them aware of his impending departure on December 27, and said he was leaving “for personal reasons.”
But an excerpt from his resignation letter reported by Reuters indicates that Feeley is indeed resigning out of protest of the Trump presidency.
“As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies,” Feeley’s letter read, according to Reuters. “My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”
Reached by TWS, the State Department declined to comment on whether the excerpt was genuine. But Under-secretary of State Steve Goldstein seemed to confirm as much in comments to reporters on Friday.
“Everyone has a line that they will not cross,” Goldstein said. “If the ambassador feels that he can no longer serve… then he has made the right decision for himself, and we respect that.”
The news broke in the United States late Friday morning but Univision News tweeted his resignation letter early Thursday afternoon, before reports of Trump’s “shithole” comments surfaced.
After nearly a decade’s service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Feeley joined the State Department in 1990, becoming ambassador to Panama in 2015.
“Due to his unwavering belief in the importance of the integration of the countries of the Americas, the ambassador focused most of his career in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the U.S. Embassy Panama said in a Spanish-language press release. “Upon leaving office, the Ambassador expresses his deepest gratitude to the Panamanian government and people for such a warm reception and for a relationship marked by friendship, mutual respect, and collaboration.”
Feeley will be replaced on March 9 by Roxanne Cabral, now the embassy’s Deputy chief of mission.
