Aponte praised ElSalvador for signing a U.N. declaration for the elimination of violence against gays andlesbians. In response to a directive from the State Department urging ambassadors to dosomething in recognition of Gay Pride Month.But, really, who's keeping track? Posted on Sun, Dec. 11, 2011 Politics shouldn't deny a qualified Latina BY ROBERT MENENDEZ http://menendez.senate.gov Republicans have stalled Mad Carmen Aponte's nomination as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador. As I sat in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's business meeting participating in yet another discussion on the nomination of Mari Carmen Aponte to be ambassador to nomination, after multiple hearings and background briefings, and after agreeing to break with protocol to allow more than one Republican on the committee to examine her personal FBI file, my Republican colleagues asked for "just one more classified hearing" to fully vet her nomination. One more hearing? Come on, let's be honest: There is no question about Ambassador Aponte's qualifications or performance on the job; this is just another case of Republican foot dragging in order to undermine the president's policy objectives. UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05784588 Date: 12/31/2015I am especially concerned by the actions of my Senate colleagues who are willing tosee this remarkable Hispanic woman sacrificed to inside-the- Beltway politics, wherethe political points gained frombringing down an administration nominee supersede thevalue gained from having a superior ambassador in San Salvador promoting andguarding American interests.(Mari Carmen Aponte was first nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S.Ambassador to El Salvador on Dec. 9, 2009, and was recess-appointed to that post onAug. 19, 2010. She was re-nominated at the beginning of the 112th Congress.)Born in Puerto Rico, Ambassador Aponte became the executive director of the PuertoRico Federal Affairs Administration in 2001. She has served as a director at theNational Council of La Raza and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.She has presided over the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia and theHispanic National Bar Association.In addition to fostering a strong U.S.-Salvadoran bilateral relationship that resulted inPresident Obama announcing El Salvador as one of four countries chosen toparticipate in the Partnership for Growth initiative, she has focused on strengtheningthe relationship between the U.S. and Salvadoran business communities and served asa staunch advocate for U.S. companies.Perhaps most important, Ambassador Aponte has been an advocate for Americannational security and democratic values. As a result of her advocacy, El Salvador isagain a key ally in Central America and its troops are the only ones from a LatinAmerican country fighting alongside American troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Shehas consistently fought Cuba and Venezuela's efforts to gain influence in CentralAmerica and as a result of her negotiating skills, the U.S. and El Salvador will open anew, jointly-funded, electronic monitoring center that will be an invaluable tool infighting transnational crime.Her Republican detractors originally cited a personal relationship with a Cuban nationalas evidence of her unsuitability for office. When facts and files didn't corroborate thesevicious allegations, they changed their tune to decry an editorial written by AmbassadorAponte on tolerance and non-violence during gay pride