The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, led by Acting Assistant Secretary and career Foreign Service Officer Francisco Palmieri, implements U.S. foreign policy across a vast region stretching from the northernmost part of Canada to South America’s southernmost tip. The Acting Assistant Secretary leads the Department’s efforts with Canada and Latin American and Caribbean partners to protect democracy; promote economic prosperity and pursue fair and reciprocal trade; and advance security by combatting transnational crime and drug trafficking.
U.S. engagement with the Hemisphere includes both broad-ranging challenges and opportunities-- as there is no other region in the world whose interests are more directly tied to our own. This noontime discussion provides an excellent window into the key priorities being pursued under Acting Assistant Secretary Palmieri’s leadership: including regional efforts to support the Venezuelan people and the restoration of their democracy; facilitating a smooth implementation of the Colombian peace process; deepening the security relationship with Mexico while we re-negotiate our trade relationship; and advancing energy security in the Caribbean, among many other issues. Following up on the Summit of the Americas in Lima on April 13-14, what are the other upcoming diplomatic and economic opportunities on the horizon for the hemisphere this year? How will the U.S. continue to work with regional partners to combat shared challenges such across this strategically important expanse of the globe? Join us for an engaging discussion with Acting Assistant Secretary Palmieri as we explore these and other issues.
Francisco (Paco) Palmieri is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he served as Acting Assistant Secretary from January 2017 to November 2017. Mr. Palmieri served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America and the Caribbean from January 2014 to January 2016.
From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Palmieri served as Deputy Executive Secretary in the Executive Secretariat. He served as the Director of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ Office of Policy, Planning, and Coordination. He also served in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Spain, and Honduras. He led the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement’s (INL) Latin American and Caribbean Programs Office. He was the Director of Embassy Baghdad’s INL Office from 2010-2011. He also served as Director of the Near East and South and Central Asia Office in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL).
Mr. Palmieri earned an M.S. in International Strategic Studies from the National War College. He received his A.B. in Politics from Princeton University and attended the University of Texas’ Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs prior to joining the Foreign Service.
