Joining the
United States Foreign Service in 1955, White served in a variety of positions at the State Department and in US delegations, primarily in Latin America. Postings included Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua. From 1968 to 1970 he served as
Peace Corps deputy regional director and then regional director, for the Latin America region. From 1975 to 1977 he was Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the
Organization of American States.
Paraguay (1977–1980) 1978 cable concerning operation Condor On March 6, 2001,
The New York Times reported the existence of a recently declassified 1978 cable from Robert White, at the time the U.S. ambassador to
Paraguay. Professor
J. Patrice McSherry of
Long Island University described the discovery as "another piece of increasingly weighty evidence suggesting that U.S. military and intelligence officials supported and collaborated with
Condor as a secret partner or sponsor". In the cable, Ambassador White relates a conversation with General
Alejandro Fretes Dávalos, chief of staff of Paraguay's armed forces, who told him that the
South American intelligence chiefs involved in Condor
"keep in touch with one another through a U.S. communications installation in the Panama Canal Zone which covers all of Latin America". This installation was "employed to co-ordinate intelligence information among the southern cone countries". White, whose message was sent to
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, was concerned that the US connection to Condor might be revealed during the then ongoing investigation into the deaths of
Orlando Letelier and his American colleague, Ronni Moffitt. "It would seem advisable", he suggests, "to review this arrangement to ensure that its continuation is in US interest". He was posted to
El Salvador during the first years of that country's brutal 12-year civil war. He was harshly critical of the Salvadorian government and accused the military and paramilitaries (widely alleged to have close ties) of committing widespread atrocities against civilians, many of which were later factually confirmed. He once called prominent military figure
Roberto D'Aubuisson a "pathological killer". D'Aubuisson was widely suspected of collaboration with death squad killings including the assassination of Archbishop
Óscar Romero. White also accused
José Napoleón Duarte, El Salvador's president from 1984 to 1989 of being a
CIA asset.
Post-diplomatic career After retiring from the
Foreign Service in 1981, White served as a Senior Associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was also Professor of International Relations at
Simmons College in Boston, Additionally, White led an ongoing effort to reform U.S. intelligence agencies. ==Awards==