Trump administration mulls closing 27 embassies and consulates
The Trump administration is considering closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates, CNN reports, based on an internal State Department document. This includes diplomatic posts in Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and France.
What do you need to know?
- The U.S. administration is considering closing diplomatic posts in Europe, Africa, and Asia, including those in Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France.
- No exact date for the closure of the embassies and consulates has been provided.
- American media report this based on an internal State Department document.
According to information obtained by "The New York Times," the document does not specify the date of closure for the posts. The newspaper emphasizes that this action is an expansion of the Trump administration's plans to implement significant changes in diplomacy abroad. The plans include budget cuts for the State Department by nearly 50%.
The most embassies that could be closed are located in Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. Recommendations also include closing diplomatic missions in Luxembourg, Grenada, Malta, and the Maldives.
Consulates in Europe and beyond
The plan also includes the closure of consulates, mainly in Europe, in popular tourist destinations. Among them are five consulates in France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg), two in Germany (Dusseldorf and Leipzig), and two in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mostar and Banja Luka).
Closures may also affect consulates in Thessaloniki in Greece, Florence in Italy, Ponta Delgada in Portugal, and Edinburgh in Scotland. Outside Europe, the closure of four consular facilities is being considered: in Douala, Cameroon, Medan, Indonesia, Durban, South Africa, and Busan, South Korea.
The document suggested that the duties of the closed embassies be taken over by neighboring countries' posts. "The New York Times" reports that the note authors also suggest reducing or eliminating the U.S. embassy presence in Mogadishu, Somalia, and closing the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq, along with reducing costs for diplomatic posts in Baghdad and Erbil. They also propose consolidating posts into a single location in countries with multiple consulates, such as Japan and Canada.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the internal document and plans for drastic cuts in the State Department.
