to run Paraguay at the beginning of December 2005 though his nomination was in July and confirmed in November - smacks of back room deals going on right around the time of the land issues with Moon.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/15149.htmsnip
James Cason was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay on December 1, 2005. A career Foreign Service Officer with 30 years’ experience in Latin America, he was nominated by President Bush in July 2005 and confirmed by the Senate on November 4, 2005. He was Chief of Mission at the United States Interests Section (USINT) Havana, Cuba, from September 10, 2002 until September 10, 2005. Prior to assuming his duties in Havana, he worked in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs as Director of Policy, Planning and Coordination.
He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Before, he was Political Advisor to the Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM) and to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT). Mr. Cason also served at U.S. missions in San Salvador, El Salvador; La Paz, Bolivia; Panama City, Panama; Montevideo, Uruguay; Milan, Italy; Maracaibo, Venezuela; Lisbon, Portugal; and as the Guatemala desk officer at the Department of State.
During his 36-year career with the Department of State, Mr. Cason has won a variety of awards, including six meritorious honor awards, a Superior Honor Award, and the Department’s Distinguished Honor Award. He has also received the Joint Chiefs of Staff Best Essay Award and the Defense Intelligence Agency's Writing Award. Earlier in his career he graduated with distinction from the National War College. He received the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff's Joint Meritorious Service Medal and the Coast Guard’s Distinguished Public Service Award. He is a Minister Counselor in the Foreign Service.
More on him
http://havanajournal.com/politics/entry/james_cason_diplomacy_in_cuba_pro_and_con_debate/snip
Cuba says he was a rude subversive who tried to foment a counterrevolution. When 75 dissidents were arrested and sentenced to lengthy jail terms in 2003, the Cuban government blamed Cason for their arrests.
‘’No one can deny that the chief of the Interests Section arrived with instructions to carry out provocations of all kinds against Cuba,’’ Castro said in a 2003 government TV show.
“I must recognize nevertheless that he has fulfilled the instructions of the Department of State with absolute seriousness, efficiency, rapidity, decisiveness.’’
snip
He’s no stranger to controversy. Early in his career, he was tossed out of Uruguay when his negotiations for the release of political prisoners held by a dictatorship were deemed to be interference in the nation’s internal affairs.