Trump’s new Africa envoy makes debut trip

Frank Garcia, the recently confirmed US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, began his first official trip to the continent this weekend, arriving in Nigeria before planned stops in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.

Garcia, a former Republican Capitol Hill staffer and Navy officer with limited Africa diplomatic experience, will link President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda to commercial diplomacy, strategic competition, and security cooperation with Africa, especially in the wake of significant cuts to foreign assistance.

Nigerian media reported that Garcia was expected to address the Trump administration’s proposed migration agreement in a meeting with President Bola Tinubu. The proposal could accelerate deportations and could tie Abuja’s cooperation to US visa restrictions.

US-Africa policy watchers say Garcia’s more traditional State Department role runs alongside that of Massad Boulos, the White House-based senior presidential adviser for Africa, who also serves as the State Department’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs. Boulos has led US peace negotiations in conflict-ridden eastern DR Congo and Sudan.

— Yinka Adegoke