Please note this is a hybrid event - you have the option to attend in person or virtually. Registrations are required for all attendees. For in-person attendees, the event will run from 12 - 2 pm and will include lunch. The live stream will begin shortly after 1 pm (virtual attendees will be sent a link for the event via email).
It's time to get together! After a long, cold winter and the unprecedented events that have come with Donald Trump's return to Washington, our DACOR LAC Discussion Group is finally ready to meet in-person again! Thanks to a big snow storm and other unplanned events, we had a virtual meeting on Nicaragua in February, but we have now regrouped and are ready to kick-off our luncheon meetings at the DACOR Bacon House!
We will meet on Wednesday, April 23, at 12:00 noon to discuss the current state of affairs in Colombia and the challenges it is facing, both in the region and in the broader international stage. Our panelists will be former U.S Ambassador to Colombia Bill Brownfield, former Colombian Ambassador to the United States Carolina Barco, and Mr. Sergio Guzman, co-founder and director of Colombia Risk Analysis.
This will be a particularly important session for various reasons: Colombian President Gustavo Petro is entering the final year of his presidency and numerous candidates are jockeying to replace him; President Trump and Petro have already had a diplomatic stand-off that could shape Colombia-US relations for the foreseeable future; and USAID has stopped its assistance to Bogota, which will impair Colombia's ability to address the massive influx of migrants and refugees from Venezuela and other social and economic challenges. All in all, this will be a pivotal year for Colombia and its leadership.
Sign up now to participate in this important conversation with three Colombia experts! Registration is required for all participants. The DACOR cash bar opens at 12:00 noon and we will move upstairs for lunch at 12:30 p.m. The program will begin promptly at 1:00 PM.
Ambassador Carolina Barco served as Colombia’s Foreign Minister from 2002 to 2006, as Ambassador to the United States from 2006 to 2010 and as Colombia’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain from 2019 to 2020. Previously, Ambassador Barco was a consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) involved in creating and implementing the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Program) in over 60 mid-size cities in Latin-America and the Caribbean to deliver more sustainable financial, social and environmental development.
In Colombia, she was the Director of City Planning of Bogotá, implementing the city’s first ten-year regional and urban plan. She serves on several boards, including the Council of the Fundación Santa Fé de Bogotá and the International Advisory Council of the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. Carolina was awarded Colombia’s Gran Orden al Mérito Nacional; France’s Légion d’honneur (Commander). She has a BA from Wellesley College, a Master’s in City Planning from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and an Executive MBA from the Instituto de Empresa.
Ambassador Bill Brownfield enjoyed an illustrious career in public service, at the rank of career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service. The last seven years of his career were spent serving as the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. As assistant secretary, Amb. Brownfield ran a portfolio of more than $4 billion in 80 countries administered by 5000 employees and contractors. Ambassador Brownfield’s expertise in the Americas draws from his vast experience in serving as U.S. ambassador to Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia. Through his ambassadorial posts, Amb. Brownfield was immersed in working with the Colombian government to build upon existing institutions and promoting U.S. interests economically via the establishment of the Colombia-United States Free Trade Agreement. In Venezuela, he led an embassy in constant crisis with the most adversarial government of any country in the Hemisphere.
Brownfield has UN experience in Geneva and Vienna. He was temporary political adviser to the U.S. Southern Command. He received the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award and the Presidential Performance Award three times each. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the National War College and attended the University of Texas School of Law.
Sergio Guzmán is the co-founder and director of Colombia Risk Analysis. He provides commercial, security, and political risk analysis for the Andean region. Guzmán has worked with clients in the fields of mining and energy, financial inclusion, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, medicinal cannabis, transportation and logistics, and the retail sector. Guzmán also provides advice and analysis to different governments and international humanitarian organizations working in Colombia. Guzmán is also an adjunct professor of business administration at Universidad Externado de Colombia, where he teaches political risk analysis to students in the university’s MBA program.
Guzmán is a columnist for Global Americans, and he has written for Americas Quarterly, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Oxford Analytica, and Foreign Policy. His writing explores the political and security context in Colombia and the Andean region. Before joining Colombia Risk Analysis, Guzmán was the principal analyst for Colombia, Bolivia, and Suriname at Control Risks, where he was an international consultant in political and security risks. He holds a master’s degree in international economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.
Location
Setting: Hybrid DACOR Bacon House OR Online 1801 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 UNITED STATES
