Arturo Padró y Almeida

Arturo Padró y Almeida repeatedly acted as Cuba’s representative in Washington during the republic’s early decades. In September 1906, amid the rebellion against President Tomás Estrada Palma, he notified the United States that government forces had been ordered to suspend hostilities in the hope that the insurgents would do the same. He delivered the news orally and then confirmed it in a signed diplomatic note. ¹

As chargé in 1922, Padró presented Cuba’s request for American assent to a foreign loan of up to $50 million. He explained the taxes pledged to repay it and the government’s proposed financial reforms. The following August, he asked Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes to clarify press reports suggesting possible American intervention. Hughes answered with criticism of Cuban lottery legislation and the government’s financial conduct. ^{2, 3}

Padró later served as embassy counselor under Cosme de la Torriente. When the ambassador left Washington in April 1925, he designated Padró as acting chief and entrusted him with Cuba’s representation on the Pan American Union’s governing board. ⁴