US Ambassador to Jamaica Donald Tapia called the curtains on his diplomatic tenure on Friday (January 8), to return home after a colourful 18-month stint.

Tapia, in a brief statement on the official US Ambassador Twitter profile, hailed the envoy position as the ‘greatest privilege of his life’.

“Dear friends, it has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve as United States Ambassador to Jamaica. I am proud of what my team at the embassy has accomplished in building on the bilateral relationships between our two countries,” he began.

“Most importantly, I’m grateful for the friendships I’ve made with what I believe to be Jamaica’s greatest strength—its people. Likkle more Jamaica,” Tapia continued.

Just days prior, Tapia paid a final courtesy call to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, who had this to say of the meeting on Twitter.

“Early yesterday (Wednesday afternoon) Donald Tapia paid me a farewell courtesy call.”

Johnson Smith said she thanked him for his work to provide strong health cooperation, including coronavirus (COVID-19) support, valued at US$2 million, the promotion of investment and increased cooperation in security and technical matters.

“We affirmed the friendship between our countries and he shared that he will carry happy memories of his time here. The [ministry] wishes him all the best on his return to the US,” she noted further.

The 81-year-old envoy had been US ambassador to Jamaica since July 2019.