Part 1 of 4 in the 2026 International Perspectives Series. Click here to purchase discounted tickets for all events.

Once overshadowed by U.S. strategic focus on Europe and Asia, Latin America is now center stage in debates over American influence, economic opportunity, and supply-chain resilience. Join us to examine how recent developments have brought renewed attention to Latin America’s political, economic, and security significance.

We’ll explore key issues shaping today’s policy landscape, including U.S. actions toward Venezuela, the strategic importance of critical minerals across the region, and how longstanding ideas about hemispheric security continue to influence U.S. decision-making.

This conversation will offer perspective on where U.S.–Latin America relations stand now, what challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and why the Western Hemisphere continues to matter for U.S. priorities and global stability.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Benjamin N. Gedan is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Stimson Center Latin America program. He is an Adjunct Lecturer and Foreign Policy Fellow at the Latin America Studies Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the former Director of Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Previously, he served as the South America Director on the National Security Council staff at the White House, managed Honduras and Argentina at the U.S. Department of State and had responsibility for Central America and the Caribbean as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department.

Kevin O’Reilly assumed his duties as Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Managua on June 26, 2023. He previously served as the U.S. National Coordinator for the 2023 Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colorado, and for the 2022 Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California. From 2018 to 2022 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America and Western Hemisphere Economic Policy.

A career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, Panama, and as the embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires from June 2015 to February 2016; Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs in Washington, DC; and Senior Director for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq. Mr. O’Reilly also served as the Director for Latin American Affairs in the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of International Affairs and later as the White House’s National Security Council Director for North American Affairs. He was a Pearson Fellow in the Office of Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and served in the Pentagon in the Joint Staff’s Western European and NATO Affairs Division.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Marc Stanley most recently served as the United States Ambassador to Argentina from 2021 to 2025. He is an American trial lawyer, political activist, Jewish community leader, and philanthropist.