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Non grata from Tirana, the chronology of a history of manipulation

Si gënjyen për 5 vite Yuri Kim, Gabriel Escobar dhe Matthew Palmer

Politiko 2026-06-11 14:50:22

The State Department led by Secretary Rubio, who is said to have ordered last Friday to allow opposition leader Sali Berisha to travel to the US, has rejected the position of his predecessor Anthony Blinken. From today onwards, he is no longer Non Grata as he was known for five years. The first sign of this was given in May 2025 when the State Department called Blinken's decision a political act "that holds hostage the relationship between the two countries". In that statement, the State Department told White House reporter Marc Caputo: "We will not allow our foreign policy interests or relations with Albania to be held hostage by politicized decisions of the Biden era". Now this position has turned into action.

To review what has happened during this time, Lapsi.al has opened the archives since May 19, 2021, when the State Department declared Sali Berisha 'non grata' for being involved in "corruptive acts" and for "undermining democracy." This measure, which was taken to quell a possible opposition protest after the elections a month ago, by entangling the DP in an internal quarrel, was suspected to have been inspired by Tirana. Edi Rama himself had threatened his rival in parliament, telling him that he would soon no longer be able to cross the Atlantic.

But, in the offensive to protect Anthony Blinken's document, a barrage of diplomats were thrown at his subordinates. Lapsi.al has reviewed the most important ones chronologically. Aware that the timing of this move had raised the first doubts, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Matthew Palmer, who later left the service as suspected of a conflict of interest with Serbian President Vučić, tried to play down the time factor. "I would not attach importance to the timing, but what matters is the seriousness with which the United States takes the issue of public corruption. This is a testament to our commitment to using the instruments that we have available," he said in an interview on May 20, 2021.

When it became known that Berisha would not surrender but would file a lawsuit against Blinken, the pressure on Lulzim Basha increased to expel him from the DP. Ambassador Yuri Kim said the famous threatening phrase that whoever continues with Non Grata "will eat grass". With the ease of getting out of the diplomatic suit and showing herself to be more Catholic than the Pope, she became the target of Berisha, who described her as an "unappointed governor". The State Department came out in support of her positions.

"Washington is concerned by the unjustified attacks on our ambassador in Tirana. These vile attacks do not represent the Albanian people. As directed by Washington, Ambassador Kim has clearly explained and implemented United States policies, including President Biden's determination to hold accountable those who engage in corruption or undermine democracy," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The same stubborn line continued even after it was seen that Berisha was in the majority in his party after he convened the convention at the Arena Kombëtare stadium. American pressure was on Basha not to leave the party. After strong clashes on January 8, 2022, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern and Central Europe, Gabriel Escobar, intervened. He insisted that Berisha is lonely. "I would draw the attention of those who think that the fact that he can bring violent supporters to the streets signals some kind of electoral support. I doubt that is the case. And I hope that voters reject this kind of behavior in these types of activities," he told the Voice of America, where reality was ridiculously denied. He added, threatening Berisha's supporters: "Not everyone who claims to be a member of the Democratic Party is an important partner of ours at these moments."

Ambassador Juri Kim embodied this foolish insistence at every step. After Basha’s resignation, she recognized Enkeleid Alibeaj as the leader of a fake DP and lobbied to prevent the courts from granting the seal and logo to the majority of the Democrats. She did not hesitate to intervene against the Vienna Convention even in electoral races, calling for a vote not to be held for Non Gratat. “It is wrong. In the objective and well-considered opinion of the United States of America, the persons who are designated should not be representatives of the Albanian people. The Albanian people deserve better and demand better,” she said before the local elections during a visit to the north of the country. On April 3, she compared Berisha to an arsonist who “promises to put out fires.”

Defending the ambassador in Tirana, in the same month, Gabriel Escobar declared on Top Story that there is no chance that Non Grata will be removed. “First of all, I think that our position on this particular individual is very clear. But I would say that I do not know of any person who, through elections, has managed to change the designation of their position by the State Department according to our legislation.” With the same ease with which he promised that Non Grata would never be removed, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State also claimed that the decision-making regarding Berisha was not political. “The decision to designate him was an institutional decision. It was not an individual decision and it was not a political decision,” he declared to VOA on October 22, 2022.

Today it seems as if the stance has changed 180 degrees. The approach is completely opposite to what Palmer, Kim and Escobar announced, who for 5 years told us that the decision was not political, that this was done to fight corruption in Albania, that Non Grata will never be reviewed./ Lapsi.al