Biden appoints Indo-American Maju Varghese as executive director Presidential Inauguration Committee
Washington: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have named Indian-American Maju Varghese in the four-member Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), which will organize the activities surrounding their swearing-in on January 20.
The team includes Tony Allen as the Chief Executive Officer, Maju Varghese as the Executive Director, Erin Wilson as the Deputy Executive Director, and Yvanna Cancela as its Deputy Executive Director.
It is an honor to help lead the team that will plan the inaugural activities for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris while keeping their commitment to protecting the health and safety of Americans and demonstrating the strength and resilience of our nation, Varghese said in a statement.
Verghese is the fifth Indian-American to be given key positions by the Biden transition team.
The inauguration ceremony marks the commencement of a new four-year term for the president of the United States. It is held even if an incumbent president begins a second consecutive term. The major events are the oath of office, inaugural address, parade, and inaugural ball.
This historic inauguration will serve as the launching pad for the Biden-Harris Administration to get to work on day one and beat the pandemic, build back our economy better, and unify our country, he said.
Varghese was the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Advisor in the Biden-Harris campaign from the primaries through the general, overseeing the campaign's day-to-day operations and leading it through an unprecedented shift to remote working.
He previously served in the Barack Obama administration in various roles, including as the Assistant to the President for Management and Administration and Deputy Director of Advance. He has also worked as the Chief Operating Officer at The Hub Project and as a Senior Advisor at the law firm Dentons.
A lawyer by training, Varghese was born in the US to parents who immigrated from Thiruvalla, Kerala.
As the Assistant to the President for Management and Administration from July 2015 to Jan 2017, Varghese was responsible for day-to-day operations of the White House complex including oversight of White House budget, personnel, facilities, tours, and major events.
As Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Advance from June 2014 to July 2015, he served as the head of the US delegation for pre-advance visits around the world composed of White House staff, National Security staff, the White House Military Office, and the United States Secret Service.
Varghese has a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Varghese is the fifth Indian-American to be given important positions by the Biden transition team. In November, surgeon Vivek Murthy was appointed co-chair of the COVID-19 task force.
Indian-Americans Arun Majumdar (Department of Energy) and Kiran Ahuja (Office of Personnel Management) were appointed heads of key transition committees.
Indian-American Neera Tanden has been nominated as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
CEO of PIC Allen said, "This year's inauguration will look different amid the pandemic, but we will honor the American inaugural traditions and engage Americans across the country while keeping everybody healthy and safe." Allen is the President of Delaware State University (DSU).
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
