Speaker Program Latin America & Caribbean Luncheon Group
Event Description
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).
Join the Latin American and Caribbean Luncheon Group at DACOR to discuss China's rapidly evolving and expanding presence in Latin America and the challenges it poses for the US. Panelists will include Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, former Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor at U.S. Southern Command, and U.S. Ambassador to Guyana; Mr. Eric Farnsworth, head of the Washington office of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas; and Dr. Evan Ellis, research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute.
The program will open with a heartfelt tribute to a beloved colleague, Ambassador Lino Gutierrez, who passed away on May 3, 2025. Please make plans to join us as we remember and honor Lino.
This will be a particularly important session for our group for a variety of reasons. The People’s Republic of China has become an ever-expanding major presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. Today, China is the leading trading partner for most countries in the region and its investments in ports, roads, energy and other infrastructure pose growing security concerns for the US at a time when US government and private sector regional involvement has diminished. Recent USG policies on trade, migration, drugs and foreign aid have further distanced the region from its traditional strong economic, political, military and cultural ties with the US. This is creating new opportunities for China to exert economic, political and cultural influence.
Our three panel members, all experienced hands in the region and knowledgeable about the role China is playing in the political, security and economic arenas, will help us better understand this growing challenge for the US in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch is a distinguished leader with over 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, achieving the rank of Career Minister. She brings profound expertise in geo-political strategy, political-military affairs, and economic development.
As U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann navigated high-stakes political situations, successfully upholding democratic processes and spearheading commercial advocacy that resulted in a dramatic increase in U.S. investment. Her concurrent role as the Secretary of State’s Representative to CARICOM further solidified her influence by cementing relationships across the fifteen member states. Most recently, as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Ambassador Lynch delivered critical strategic counsel to senior military leadership.
With extensive experience spanning South Asia, the Middle East, and South America, Ambassador Lynch offers a truly global perspective. She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the National War College.
Mr. Eric Farnsworth heads the Washington office of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. He is a strong proponent for regional democracy and plays a leading role across a range of issues including trade, investment, and economic relations, energy, healthcare including pandemic relief, and Asia/LAC relations, among others. He is a long-standing, early observer of China’s hemispheric engagement and implications for regional development, democracy, and US interests.
In government, he served at the White House, the Office of the US Trade Representative, and the Department of State, working on post-conflict reconstruction in Panama and Central America, NAFTA and related negotiations, and hemispheric policy development, coordination, and implementation during the Clinton Administration. He also served at the US Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was awarded the Superior Honor Award three times.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Farnsworth was managing director of ManattJones Global Strategies, a Washington and Los Angeles-based advisory and strategic consulting group. He also worked in global public policy at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and, before that, with US Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Congressman John Edward Porter (R-IL). He earned an MPA in International Relations from Princeton and a BA (honors) from Ball State with majors in economics, history, and political science.
Eric Farnsworth is a Truman Scholar, an alumnus of Leadership America, NATO Alliance, and US-Spain leadership programs, and an invited participant on programs with numerous policy organizations. He has also served as president of the Western Hemisphere Committee of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, and a board member of Princeton in Latin America (PiLA).
Dr. Evan Ellis is a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, with a focus on the region’s relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors, as well as transnational organized crime and populism in the region.
Dr. Ellis has published over 400 works, including five books: the 2009 book China in Latin America: The Whats and Wherefores, the 2013 book The Strategic Dimension of Chinese Engagement with Latin America, the 2014 book, China on the Ground in Latin America, the 2018 book, Transnational Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the 2022 book, China Engages Latin America: Distorting Development and Democracy?
He has given testimony on Latin America security issues to the US Congress on various occasions, has discussed his work regarding China and other external actors in Latin America on a broad range of radio and television programs, and is cited regularly in the print media in both the US and Latin America for his work in this area.
Dr. Ellis has also been awarded the Order of Military Merit José María Córdova by the Colombian government for his scholarship on security issues in the region.
Location
Setting: Hybrid DACOR Bacon House OR Online 1801 F St, NW Washington, DC 20006 UNITED STATES
