Americas Program

A leading source of ideas defining the future of national security, analyzing geopolitical trends, and addressing key political, economic, and social challenges facing the region

The Program was established with the clear, forward-looking mission to elevate the policy discussion on the Western Hemisphere. The program aims to influence through timely, practical, and insightful analysis and policy recommendations for partners in the United States and the region.

The Americas Program focuses on six thematic priorities:

  1. The authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba as well as democratic backsliding in other countries as a driver of regional instability.
  2. Economic development, strengthening supply chains, forging closer trade linkages between the United States and the region, and nearshoring critical industries.
  3. The long-term impact of China’s rise, the continued relevance of Russia and other extra-hemispheric powers, in a region shaped by strategic rivalry.
  4. Security, especially transnational criminal organizations and illicit economies, particularly in Mexico, the Northern Triangle, and Colombia.
  5. Governance challenges and their effects, including weak rule of law, endemic corruption, migration, inequality, and human rights violations.
  6. Civil-military relations and defense cooperation.

Contact Information

Projects

Featured Analysis

Photo:SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Photo:SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

USMCA Review 2026

CSIS Americas experts evaluate key challenges and opportunities ahead of the 2026 joint review of the USMCA free trade agreement.

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Brief by Diego Marroquín Bitar, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, and Earl Anthony Wayne — August 18, 2025

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Featured Event

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Iran and Venezuela: Regime Change? | The High Top

Jon Alterman and Ryan Berg compare the swift removal of Maduro in Venezuela with the ongoing war in Iran, tracing what the differences in scope, objectives, and regional fallout reveal about U.S. strategy and the future of regime stability.

Event — March 10, 2026

Alberta Separatism Would Harm Both Canada and the United States

CSIS Americas Program Deputy Director and Senior Fellow Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Randy Boissonnault explore the Alberta separatist movement and how it has impacted U.S.-Canada relations.

Critical Questions by Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Randy Boissonnault — March 9, 2026

35 West

Best of 35 West: LAC Fighters in Ukraine

In this Best of 35 West episode, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, sat down with Elizabeth M.F. Grasmeder for a conversation on X (formerly Twitter) about the role of foreign fighters from LAC on both sides in Ukraine.

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — March 5, 2026

CSIS 35 West
35 West

Best of 35 West: Derechos Humanos en Cuba / Human Rights in Cuba

In this Best of 35 West episode, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow with the Americas Program, sits down with Yaxys Cires, Director of Strategy at the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights to discuss the recent United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Cuba.

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — February 19, 2026

CSIS 35 West