First Belizean OAS Assistant Secretary General Concludes 10-Year Term

The first Belizean to get elected as Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Nestor Mendez, has officially concluded his tenure after a decade of service.

Mendez demitted office on Wednesday, 9 July, though his term officially concludes on Friday, July 11, 2025. His departure reflects the end of a two-term tenure that began in 2015 and was extended through re-election in 2020.

“I want to thank my country, Belize. I want to thank that beautiful, small, unique gem in Central America, the bastion of democracy and stability,” said Mendez in his farewell address on Thursday. “A place where a young man from a village, growing up in the rural north of Belize, can dream big and work hard and get an education and make it to be Ambassador of Belize to the United States and the OAS, and then make it to be elected to be the Assistant Secretary General of this organisation.”

During his tenure, Mendez championed innovation, equity, and institutional reform across the Americas. “That is the country where I come from, and I know I’m extremely blessed, and I’m so proud. Thank you to my country,” Mendez added.