Christopher Hernandez-Roy

Acting Director and Senior Fellow, Americas Program
Hernandez-Roy

Christopher Hernandez-Roy is acting director and senior fellow of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. His work includes research into democratic backsliding, transnational organized crime, geopolitics, and economic and national security issues in the Western Hemisphere. Christopher held senior leadership positions at the Organization of American States (OAS), as the first director of the Department of Public Security and later the Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions. He also served as a senior political adviser to two secretaries general, during which time he documented the grave human rights abuses of dictatorship in Venezuela and co-led the OAS’s efforts to bring a case to the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity. He oversaw the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia and negotiated the establishment of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras. Christopher was also intimately involved in the peaceful resolution of border disputes between Honduras and Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala, and Honduras and El Salvador. He worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police early in his career. He has been interviewed on CBS, CTV and the CBC and cited in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among other media outlets. He has also testified on Capitol Hill. Christopher is an affiliated practitioner at James Madison University’s Department of Political Science. He holds a BA honors degree in history from Carleton University and an MPhil in international relations from the University of Cambridge.

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35 West

Best of 35 West: Canada's Role in the Golden Dome

In this episode that aired on June 12, 2025, Phillippe Lagassé joins to discuss Canada's historical position on continental missile defense, changes to the threat landscape faced by Canada, and how Prime Minister Mark Carney is approaching defense modernization priorities.

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — June 29, 2026

CSIS 35 West

Three Nations, One Table: North American Agriculture under USMCA

Join the Americas Program for a conference on USMCA and the future of North American food and agriculture. Experts will discuss food affordability, the successes and challenges of agricultural integration, and the risks that broader trade tensions pose to the agreement’s agricultural framework ahead of the 2026 review.

Event — June 24, 2026

Audio Briefs

The Next Caribbean Crisis? Assessing U.S. Military Options Toward Cuba

An audio version of "⁠The Next Caribbean Crisis? Assessing U.S. Military Options Toward Cuba⁠,"  a new commentary by CSIS’s Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Mark F. Cancian, and Henry Ziemer. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Mark F. Cancian, and Henry Ziemer — June 3, 2026

Audio Briefs

Nicaragua Under Repression: Human Rights, Accountability, and Exile

Join the Americas Program for a special hybrid event, featuring Jan Michael Simon, Chair of the U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), to unpack key findings from GHREN’s March 2026 report and examine accountability, international response, and the future of human rights in Nicaragua.

Event — May 29, 2026

Audio Briefs

The Politics and Repercussions of Washington’s Permanent Joint Board on Defense Pause

An audio version of "⁠The Politics and Repercussions of Washington’s Permanent Joint Board on Defense Pause⁠," a new critical questions by CSIS’s Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Mark F. Cancian with Jamie Tronnes, Richard Shimooka, Christopher Sands, and Philippe Lagassé. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Mark F. Cancian — May 26, 2026

Audio Briefs