James Caldwell Cason

James Caldwell Cason is a retired United States Foreign Service officer, most recently serving as Ambassador to Paraguay, a post he held from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that post, he was the Principal Officer of the US Interests Section in Havana. On January 20, 2011, he became the new mayor of Coral Gables, Florida.

Background

Cason graduated from Dartmouth College in 1966 and has an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

Career

Prior to assuming his post as United States Ambassador to Paraguay, he served as the chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, from September 10, 2002 to September 10, 2005. He was succeeded by Michael E. Parmly. Cuban media broadcast a series of satirical animations poking fun at Cason known as Cabo Cason.
Cason also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Kingston, Jamaica. Previously he served as Political Advisor to the Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command and to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. Cason also served at U.S. missions in Milan, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; San Salvador, El Salvador; Panama City, Panama; Maracaibo, Venezuela; Montevideo, Uruguay; and La Paz, Bolivia.

Cuban dissidents

A group of 735 Cuban dissidents were arrested by the Cuban government and accused of accepting gifts from Cason and the US Interests Section. Their arrests coincided with the onset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq in March 2003. An exhibit was erected by the United States Interests Section in Havana on September 8, 2005, in protest of the incarcerations. A number of the dissidents were subsequently released, but most of the individuals remained imprisoned until 2010.

Guarani music

While posted in Paraguay, Cason learned the Guaraní language, a language spoken by 94% of the people of that country and in 2008, recorded an album, "Campo Jurado", in which he sings folk songs in Guaraní.