The Presidential House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would have ignored an Executive Decree that prevents the awarding of the Grand Cross Silver Plate to any person other than “Presidents of State Powers, Vice Presidents of the State or Government, Cardinals, Princes of sovereign houses, and Ministers of State.”
That was the decoration that the Foreign Ministry granted last Tuesday to the former ambassador of the Cuban regime, Danilo Sánchez Vázquez.
Despite the above, the Presidency and the Yellow House are silent on the motivations and assessments made by the government to grant this award to the diplomat. The decision rests in the president’s hands, and the chancellor’s, Manuel Ventura Robles.
The Great Silver Plate Cross of the National Order of Juan Mora Fernández was granted to the Cuban diplomat despite the fact that by decree 33317-RE of 2006 it was agreed not to give this distinction to ambassadors.
In recent hours, various sectors have questioned this decision, including the United Diplomats group and the former president of the Republic, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez. The ex-president described this decision as a “disgrace”.