OAS decides to investigate Almagro, accused of having a relationship with a subordinate

The Organization of American States (OEA) authorized this Friday that an external company be hired to investigate whether the secretary general of the body, Louis Almagroviolated the ethical rules of the institution due to his relationship with another person on the staff.

(In context: The OAS investigates Luis Almagro for possible improper relationship)

The resolution, presented by Uruguay and Antigua and Barbudawas approved at a meeting of the Permanent Council with 30 votes in favor, 2 abstentions and one absence.

(See also: After scandal, IDB board recommends dismissing Claver-Carone)

In an intervention in the session on Friday, Almagro said that he accompanies the resolution and that he wants to “give the best result as a result of the investigation.”

The secretary general also took advantage of his speech to “confirm” that he had a relationship with the officialpointing out that it was something known by “virtually everyone”.

“She was my partner for practically three years, on a personal level perhaps the best of my life, even though our relationship ended months ago,” said the Uruguayan, who has led the organization since 2015.

A working group, made up of the member countries that lead the Permanent Council and the Secretary of Finance of the agency, will now be in charge of selecting the external company, which must submit a report within three months from the date of hiring, says the resolution.

Once the investigation is completed and the report is delivered to the Permanent Council, the member countries must “adopt the appropriate measures” with respect to the findings revealed by the report.

The investigation will focus on himself, within the framework of the sentimental relationship, Almagro violated several OAS regulations. Specifically, the regulations in relation to the functions of supervision, wage increases and intimidation, details the resolution.

It will also be investigated regarding another complaint from the anonymous informant, who indicates that a former domestic worker who worked in the official OAS residence, was physically and verbally assaulted by Almagro’s ex-wife.

The secretary general failed to protect her and fired her, says the whistleblower. Regarding this complaint, the investigation must determine the reason for the termination of the employee and if Almagro was aware of the alleged abuses of her. The OAS inspector general has already carried out a preliminary investigation into the case and recommended last week that an outside company follow up on the investigation.

On paper, the official, who had worked at the OAS since 2013, had the position of “specialist” of the Secretariat for the Strengthening of Democracy, but sources assured EFE that she worked “de facto” as Almagro’s direct adviser.

The employee had several promotions within the organization, including one grade and several levels, since she began advising the secretary general, according to internal OAS documents to which EFE had access.

OAS internal regulations stipulate that those who have an intimate relationship with another staff member or service provider “will be disqualified from supervising or evaluating that person” and will not be able to “participate in any process in which a administrative decision that affects the interests of that person.

In October, during the OAS General Assembly in Lima, Almagro assured that he had not contravened the organization’s norms and affirmed that he was never “supervisor of any person” with whom “he had a relationship.”

Almagro, who was Foreign Minister of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, has been at the head of the OAS since 2015 and renewed for a second term of another 5 years in March 2020.

The controversy surrounding her relationship with another OAS employee broke out shortly after the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) decided in September by a majority to remove its president, Mauricio Claver-Carone, for having a relationship amorous with a subordinate, something he denies.

EFE