Jose Sorzano

José S. Sorzano (b. Cuba, 9 November 1940) is a far right-wing Cuban American who has been Chairman of The Austin Group, Inc. since 1989. The Austin Group is described as an "international corporate consulting firm."

He is currently the director of a number of other private companies and of the Center for International Private Enterprise which describes itself as "a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy."

In May 2002, Sorzano was appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the 'board of visitors' of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). WHINSEC, previously known as the U.S. Army School of the Americas, is notorious for its role in training Latin American military officers, many of which have been implicated in human rights abuses.

Overview

Sorzano fled Cuba in 1961 and "started out with $5 in his pocket and a job cooking French fries in a D.C. Hot Shoppe." "In a real American success story, by 1983" Sorzano was a Professor of Government at Georgetown University. From 1983 to 1985 Sorzano was Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, and an aide to Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick.

In 1987, Sorzano served as President of the Cuban-American National Foundation, left to become the Senior Director for Latin America in the National Security Council Ronald Reagan's administration. "From his White House office, Sorzano worked on policy issues such as [supporting] the Contras, Panamanian drug trafficking, and other issues affecting United States-Latin American relations." In 1988, Sorzano "quit" the NSC in protest.

After graduating from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1965 worked as an "escort interpreter" with the U.S. Department of State between 1963 - 1965. He was Director of the Peace Corps in Bogota, Colombia between 1976 and 1979.

He was also appointed in 1992 by George H. Bush as a member of United States Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations. He was a member of the Working Group on U.S. Relations with Cuba in approximately 1994.

From 1969 to 1987 he was associate professor of government at Georgetown University. He conducted lectures and seminars at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. While at Georgetown, he was a close associate of Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Chester Crocker -- the leading right-wing ideologues at the university.

Sorzano on the United Nations

When George W. Bush nominated John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Sorzano was one of his supporters. In an interview with Jim Lehrer, Sorzano said that "he has the credentials and the achievements that indicate that he will be a good ambassador, a superb ambassador ... the criticisms that are made of him, I believe, make him directly a good appointment. They say that he is blunt. Well, there are times in which you have to call a spade a spade."

In an interview with the New York Sun in 2004 Sorzano described the United Nations as "an unbelievable waste of time and waste of resources and waste of money" for the U.S. "From the point of view of the U.S. it's a rather debilitating experience, because the name of the game is 'Stick it to Uncle Sam,'" he said. Sorzano supported the idea of the U.S. creating an alternative to the U.N. that would only be open to democratic states.

Career

• 1994 - present: The Austin Group; Board of Directors (and Chairman since 1989).
• 1994 - present: a director of Mastec Inc since 1994
• 2001: Observer/Member of the Delegation, Nicaraguan Elections, November 1-6, 2001; Attended as member of the International Republican Institute
• 1987 - 1999: Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, serving as President Ronald Reagan's Latin American specialist; During this period he toured US universities to "sell" the Contras – his speaking engagements were organized by the Puebla Institute.
• 1983 to 1985: Ambassador and U.S. Deputy to the United Nations
• 1976 - 1979: Director of the Peace Corps in Bogota, Colombia;
• 1969 - 1987: Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University
• He was "escort interpreter" with the U.S. Department of State in 1963 - 1965;
• Graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1965 and gained a Ph. D in 1972.

Affiliations

• Center for International Private Enterprise – director
• Mastec Inc. – Member, Board of Directors, (since October 1994)
• Atlantic Council of the United States – member, Working Group on U.S. Relations with Cuba
• Ultra-Scan Corp – directoer
• Center for Security Policy – Member, [[National Security Advisory Council,
• Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) &Member of the Board of Visitors, (formerly the School of the Americas) at Ft. Benning, Georgia
• Inter-American Foundation Candidate for president in June 1984: "White House-favorite Jose Sorzano, another right-wing Cuban-American and a long-time aide to United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, who withdrew after a press report labelled him the leading candidate."
• Center for a Free Cuba – Director

Resources, articles and notes

Articles, Speeches and Interviews by/with Sorzano

• Jose S. Sorzano, Honors Forum Lecture: "An overview of Latin American relations" (videorecording), Maricopa Community Colleges, 1989.
  • "Tough Questions for Bolton," The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS, 11 April 2005. (Interview with Sorzano amongst others).

General Articles

• Roger A. Brooks, "At the U.N. : The Kirkpatrick Legacy," Heritage Foundation, 13 March 1985.
• Patrick J. Haney & Walt Vanderbush, "The Role of Ethnic Interest Groups in U.S. Foreign Policy: The Case of the Cuban American National Foundation," International Studies Quarterly, June 1999. (Subscription required)
• Megan Clyne, "U.N. Is Deemed A 'Lost Cause,' Annan or Not", New York Sun, 9 December 2004.