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THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE

WESTERN HEMISPHERE: DEFINING U.S.

INTERESTS IN THE REGION

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

Serial No. 114–12

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

Shannon K. O’Neil, Ph.D., senior fellow for Latin America studies, Council 

on Foreign Relations ............................................................................................ 12

Ms. Bonnie Glick, senior vice president, GlobalConnect Division, Meridian 

International Center ............................................................................................ 21

Evan Ellis, Ph.D., author ........................................................................................ 33

Mr. Eric Farnsworth, vice president, Council of the Americas and Americas 

Society ................................................................................................................... 49

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

Shannon K. O’Neil, Ph.D.: Prepared statement .................................................... 15

Ms. Bonnie Glick: Prepared statement .................................................................. 24

Evan Ellis, Ph.D.: Prepared statement .................................................................. 35

Mr. Eric Farnsworth: Prepared statement ............................................................ 52

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 72

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 73

Written responses from Mr. Eric Farnsworth to questions submitted for the 

record by the Honorable Jeff Duncan, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of South Carolina, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Western 

Hemisphere ........................................................................................................... 74

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THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE 

WESTERN HEMISPHERE: DEFINING U.S. 

INTERESTS IN THE REGION 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11 o’clock a.m., in 

room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jeff Duncan 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. DUNCAN. A quorum being present, the subcommittee will 

come to order. I will start by recognizing myself and the ranking 

member to present our opening statements. 

Since this is our first subcommittee hearing in the 114th Congress, I will recognize members of the subcommittee that may be 

present after my opening statement and the ranking member’s 

opening statement for 1 minute to present their opening remarks, 

introduce themselves to the committee and, if they wish to do so, 

they may also submit remarks for the record. 

So I will now yield myself as much time as I may consume to 

present my opening statement. My name is Jeff Duncan. I am 

proud to be the subcommittee chairman on the Western Hemisphere. 

I previously served as subcommittee chairman in the House 

Homeland Security Committee, the Subcommittee on Oversight 

and Management Efficiency and I am glad to be here in the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. 

So let me extend a warm welcome to the returning members of 

the subcommittee and I am grateful for the friendship and partnership of the ranking member, Mr. Sires, from New Jersey. 

I look forward to working closely with Albio and the members of 

this subcommittee to help make the Department of State and 

USAID’s action in the Western Hemisphere as efficient and effective as possible in order to advance U.S. interests in the region. 

I would also like to introduce our new members and the only one 

on my side of the aisle is Mr. DeSantis from Florida. But the other 

members on the subcommittee are Ted Yoho from Florida, Tom 

Emmer from Minnesota—on the minority side, Mr. Joaquin Castro 

of Texas, Robin Kelly of Illinois, and Alan Lowenthal of California. 

Each bring a wealth of experience and I am glad to have them 

on the subcommittee. On the majority side, our staff is Mark WalkVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:20 Apr 28, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_WH\020315\93156 SHIRL
2

er—I guess the chief of the subcommittee staff—and Rebecca 

Ulrich, who formerly worked for me in my office and also on the 

subcommittee on Homeland Security, and Joske Bautista on the 

end down there working for the subcommittee. 

Those are on the majority side and I hope the ranking member 

will introduce the—some of his staff members on the minority side 

because we work closely together. It is important for our members 

to lean on our team to make sure we are effective and if we can 

do that. 

Today, I want to consider the strategic importance of the Western Hemisphere for U.S. interests. While our attention is often captivated by events in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, I do not believe that crises and firefighting should determine 

the level of a region’s priority for the United States. 

I have travelled extensively in the region—Argentina, Brazil, 

Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru both in my private 

life and also through official duties. I have got a deep affinity for 

the entrepreneurial people and cultures of the region. 

I also firmly believe that U.S. should pay more attention to countries in the Western Hemisphere. These countries by virtue of proximity, trade, travel or culture have the ability to truly influence the 

United States and our lack of focus on issues right here in our own 

neighborhood is a disservice to the American people and to our 

committed partners within the region. 

Although Roosevelt pledged the United States to the policy of a 

good neighbor in 1933, the U.S. has drifted in many ways toward 

benign neglect of our neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

U.S. disengagement, evidenced by unsustained U.S. attention 

and tactical rather than strategic approaches in the region, has enabled other actors to step into the vacuum of leadership. 

While countries in the Western Hemisphere do not experience 

the same level of chronic instability as others around the globe, 

this region is unique by virtue of its geography. 

With no ocean separating the Americas, both threats and opportunities in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America have a greater 

potential to impact the United States homeland and the American 

people as well as American businesses. Therefore, we must remain 

vigilant and truly engaged. 

This year promises to be a very interesting year. With President 

Obama’s Cuba policy shift and recent bilateral talks in Havana, 

this subcommittee will do its due diligence to hold the administration accountable for its actions on Cuba in order to require demonstrable results that benefit the Cuban people. 

Venezuela’s unstable situation, deteriorating economic conditions 

with major shortages and inflation at over 60 percent, declining oil 

production and human rights abuses also require sustained U.S. 

attention. 

Furthermore, this year’s election of a new secretary general at 

the Organization of American States, or the OAS, and Federal municipal elections in 13 countries in the hemisphere promise to keep 

us focused on advocating for transparency, adherence to the rule of 

law and democratic governance, as well as religious and press freedoms in the hemisphere. 

3

Over 68,000 unaccompanied children crossed the U.S.-Mexico 

border last summer. This subcommittee will work to keep the administration accountable to securing the U.S.-Mexico border and 

preventing a second surge of migrants from Central America 

through wise use of American tax dollars. 

Finally, the U.S. assumption of the chairmanship of the Arctic 

Council later this spring provides an excellent opportunity for active leadership on energy, security and freedom of navigation 

issues in and around the Arctic. 

Since coming to Congress in 2011, I have had three simple priorities summarized by the acronym JEFF—create jobs for the American people, promote U.S. energy security and exports and return 

to the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. 

I believe there are many ways to dig deeper into each of these 

areas with U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. First, we 

have seen many opportunities for U.S. businesses to engage in the 

region and create more American jobs in the U.S. as a result. 

This region as a whole is one of the fastest growing trading partners. For instance, according to the inter-American dialogue, between 2000 and 2013, U.S. sales to Latin America more than doubled as did the region exports to U.S. markets. In fact, the U.S. provides almost 90 percent of the $60 billion of 

remittance income to the region and has six free trade agreements 

involving 12 countries in the Western Hemisphere. This includes 

four individual FTAs, NAFTA, CAFTA, Dominican Republic. 

Opportunities also exist for more trade with the Pacific Alliance 

countries of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, which represent 36 

percent of the region’s economy, 50 percent of its international 

trade and 41 percent of all incoming foreign investment. 

Additionally, with Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Peru all participating in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, I am very 

interested to see how TPP will impact the region. 

Similarly, Chile became the 38th participant in the visa waiver 

program 1 year ago this month and U.S. Departments of State and 

Homeland Security have been in discussions with the Governments 

of Brazil and Uruguay about the criteria for joining the visa waiver 

program. That will make it easier for citizens to travel between our 

countries and for private sector investment and collaboration within these countries. 

Second, energy opportunities abound in the region today. I am 

excited about the potential for U.S. energy exports from our neighbors in the hemisphere. In the 113th Congress, I authored legislation to implement the Outer Continental Shelf Trans Boundary Hydrocarbon Agreement between Mexico and the United States. 

This was approved by the House and ultimately signed into law 

by the President. I believe we can do so much more on the energy 

front. The Western Hemisphere is home to nearly a third of the 

world’s oil and the region has nearly 337 billion barrels of estimated recovery in oil, and 20 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. 

The abundance of U.S. reserves in oil and natural gas and shale 

gas resources, the capability to export, liquefy and compress natural gas and the administration’s recent announcement of offshore 

drilling in the Atlantic, the U.S. has many reasons to partner with 

4

like-minded countries who seek to spur economic growth, achieve 

energy security, and reduce energy cost. 

Venezuela’s dire situation, resulting impact on its Petrocaribe 

program, has caused 18 Central American and Caribbean nations 

that receive its oil on preferential terms to look elsewhere for energy security. The U.S. is a natural partner for these policies. 

On January 27th, the ranking member and I co-hosted an event 

with Members of Congress and Caribbean leaders who were in 

Washington for the Caribbean Energy Security Summit. 

We discussed ways to deepen energy cooperation to assist Caribbean nations in achieving energy security. Given current circumstances and the additional potential for offshore resources—resource exploration that Aruba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad are considering, U.S. businesses have a significant opportunity to engage. 

Similarly, the potential for cooperation with Canada through the 

Keystone Pipeline and Mexico’s energy sector reforms could truly 

take us a long way toward becoming North American energy independent if we work together to achieve that goal. 

Likewise, energy opportunities in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, 

and Peru could also make our hemisphere even more energy independent. And then, finally, in addition to jobs and energy I believe 

that we must recall the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. 

In 1793, George Washington warned a young America that a reputation of weakness could lead to a loss of America’s rank among 

nations and that if we desire to secure peace it must be known that 

we are at all times ready for war. 

Washington also believed a uniform and well digested plan was 

vital to meeting these objectives. These words still ring true 

today—peace through strength. In the 112th Congress, I authorized 

legislation to address Iran’s activity in the Western Hemisphere. 

Passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Obama, this legislation required that U.S. develop a strategy 

to counter Iran’s activity in the region. 

The recent mysterious death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto 

Nisman underscores the importance of being alert instead of ignoring congressional concerns, as it seems the administration has 

done. 

Nisman bravely and boldly gave his life, holding the Government 

of Iran accountable for its role in the 1994 AMIA terrorist attack. 

Through meticulous work he exposed Iran’s operations in the Western Hemisphere using Embassies, mosques, front companies, intelligence bases and sleeper cells to accomplish its purposes. 

I remain deeply concerned about Iran’s actions in the Western 

Hemisphere with evidence of a growing presence of China, North 

Korea, and Russia here in the Americas. We must remain ever 

vigilant. 

With that, I turn to the ranking member, Albio Sires, for his 

opening statement. I look forward to hearing from our expert panel 

of witnesses and I thank you for being here today and I look forward to a lot of great things happening on this subcommittee. And 

with that, I yield to the ranking member. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations to you 

and a warm welcome to our witnesses who have been here today. 

5

Before I get started, I also want to recognize some of the new members that we have in our subcommittee—from Texas, Joaquin Castro, from Illinois, Robin Kelly, and from California, Alan 

Lowenthal. 

Welcome to the committee, and I also want to recognize the 

former chairman who we work great—great 2 years. Nice to see 

that you are still interested working with us on the Western Hemisphere although you have moved on. Nice to see you, man. 

And I want to express my appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, for 

immediately reaching out and meeting with me to discuss how we 

can work together. We share many of the same concerns and aspirations and I feel encouraged by our desire to move forward in a 

bipartisan manner. 

I look forward to working with you and the members of the subcommittee to address the numerous issues affecting our nation and 

neighbors in the hemisphere. 

I am certain that the members of this subcommittee all agree on 

the strategic importance of the Western Hemisphere to U.S. interests. We may disagree on varying degree—to a varying degree on 

the scope and manner by which we approach certain issues. 

But we ultimately want a similar peaceful, democratic, free and 

prosperous hemisphere—a hemisphere that upholds the Inter 

American Democratic Charter and respects basic human rights of 

free speech and assembly; a hemisphere whose citizens can elect 

their leaders freely and democratically without fear or coercion; a 

hemisphere whose citizens are safe and secure and a hemisphere 

whose leaders uphold the rule of law and whose citizens can aspire 

to some hope—to the same hopes and opportunities that we have 

in our country. 

I have long advocated for a more focused engagement with the 

hemisphere. Yet, after 9/11 our focus has been on the Middle East, 

Asia and elsewhere. However, I believe we are finally turning the 

page in this regard. 

While I have some clear differences and concerns with recent policy action taken in regards to Cuba, overall there are positive indications that the Western Hemisphere is finally getting the focus 

and attention it rightly deserves. 

Late last year, the U.S. hosted the Presidents from Honduras, El 

Salvador and Guatemala to address the high level of violence and 

lack of opportunity affecting their countries. 

In 2015, Mexican President Enrique Pen ̃ a Nieto was the first 

leader—the first head of state to visit Washington. With oil prices 

falling and the economies of oil-exporting nations like Venezuela 

hurting, the U.S. hosted a Caribbean energy summit that could 

help the region diversify their dependence from Petrocaribe. 

Additionally, the administration’s recent announcement committing $1 billion for Central America is a significant step. If approved, it will go far in helping improve the safety, security and 

economic well-being of the region that is amongst the most violent 

in the world and a pathway for illicit drugs bound for the United 

States. 

For detractors that doubt the strategic relevance of the region to 

the United States, I need only to remind them of the humanitarian 

crisis that erupted on our southern border. Thousands of young 

6

women and children fled their country escaping violence or were 

lured by coyotes with false hope of a broken U.S. immigration system. 

It is also but a down payment compared to the cost of doing 

nothing, and yet this issue merely underscores lingering problems 

in terms of weak institutions, corruption and poverty. Indeed, together with changing demographics and economic trends, there will 

be many challenges facing the hemisphere. 

But there are also many opportunities that will serve to integrate us further. More than half of the U.S. immigrants come from 

the Western Hemisphere. Geographic proximity has forged strong 

and robust commercial ties. 

In spite of an increasing Chinese presence, U.S. trade with the 

region was more than three times that of China in 2013. Canada 

is our number one trading partner and Mexico is a close third. 

Today, we are witnessing a global economic adjustment with a 

decline in oil and commodity prices. China’s economy is cooling and 

with it is demand for natural resources from key markets in South 

America. 

Countries that benefited from high commodity prices will face 

difficult decisions while importers will be given some breathing 

room. On the other hand, the U.S. economy is rebounding alongside 

a North American energy transformation with broad geopolitical 

implications. Elsewhere, there is a combination of promise and concern. 

Mexico has come a long way but the context behind the death 

and disappearance of 43 university students has revealed shortcomings in dealings with corruption and violence. 

Brazil and Argentina are countries with which our relations can 

be much improved. The sudden tragic death of Argentina prosecutor Alberto Nisman was a shock. But I implore Argentine authorities to commit themselves to fully investigate the matter and 

continue his work to bring those behind the horrific 1994 AMIA 

bombing to justice. And in Colombia, our strongest regional ally, 

there is a potential to end a 50-year-old conflict. 

While I have many reservations about trusting the FARC, I 

stand completely committed to supporting the people of Colombia 

as they move forward and I believe the United States should do the 

same. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and working with 

the chairman and our members to address these issues. Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I want to thank the ranking member and he is exactly correct that we are going to work well together and I value 

our relationship. 

I heard one thing that he said. I wanted to make sure I clarify. 

I heard him say China was our best trading partner. Canada is our 

largest and best trading partner. That was in his notes and I am 

not sure if what he said but what I heard. But I just want to make 

sure that—that Canada is our largest trading partner and I think 

that is what you intended to say. 

Mr. SIRES. My accent. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Yes, sir. What I would like to do is, because this 

is our first meeting I would like to give all the members a chance 

for 1 minute to introduce yourself. 

7

If you want to state, you know, your goal as a subcommittee 

member or maybe what your focus is so we all can get to know 

each other just a little bit better and the audience can as well. 

So I will start by recognizing the first member is Mr. DeSantis 

from Florida for 1 minute. 

Mr. DESANTIS. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to 

our work over these next 2 years. We have some important things 

that we need to tackle, most recently with what the administration 

has done with Cuba policy. 

Here you have a regime that was really struggling with their patrons in Moscow and Caracas, roiled by lower energy prices, and 

this is essentially a unilateral concession, a huge lifeline to the 

Castro government. 

I think it was a major mistake. We worked very hard on this 

committee last Congress to stand up for the people in Venezuela 

who were chafing under the Maduro regime. I think the administration has had a tepid response to that. 

Finally, there has been some action taken in the last few days 

but I think we have got to unequivocally stand with those freedom 

fighters in Venezuela. 

And I think, finally, we do have to be concerned with the rise of 

rogue state actors in our hemisphere and we have seen that with 

Iran. We have seen it with North Korea and we also have, of 

course, rival states like Russia and China who are seeking to have 

a foothold here. So I look forward to it and congratulations on your 

chairmanship. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. The Chair will recognize Mr. Meeks 

from New York for 1 minute. 

Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I also want to thank 

my good friend, Ranking Member Sires, and I am delighted to be 

serving on this subcommittee once again and I look forward to 

working with you on a region that must be a top priority for our 

nation. 

As a New York representative, I am mindful at all times of the 

benefits of harmonious and thriving relationships with the region. 

Canada borders my state and our partnership is deep and thriving. 

Top energy—Canada is our top energy supplier, top trading partner. The list is long, and I know my colleagues to the south can 

say similar things about Mexico. In all my years on this committee 

I do not recall a more promising time in hemispheric developments. 

While it is true that we still have many intractable problems to 

tackle, it is also true that today we will be discussing developments 

that not long ago seemed out of reach. In my estimation we are finally witnessing the dismantling of deeply entrenched Cold War 

vestiges. 

When I travel to Colombia, most of the people I meet have 

known nothing but civil war conflict that has raged in the nation 

for over 50 years. Now, the world’s longest lasting civil war is on 

the brink of peace as the FARC guerrillas and the Government of 

Colombia engaged in talks in Havana. 

A little over a year after making the Colombia embargo permanent, speaking at the White House to a room full of over 200 Latin 

American diplomats, President Kennedy proposed the Alliance for 

Progressive Initiative. 

8

It was a 10-year planned partnership with regional governments 

to facilitate social and economic advancement in Latin America to, 

in his words, ‘‘build a hemisphere where all men can hope for a 

sustainable standard of living and all can live out their lives in dignity and freedom,’’ and at that unveiling JFK made an acknowledgement that would ring true for some decades to come when he 

said, ‘‘Let me be the first to admit that we North Americans have 

not always grasped the significance of this common mission.’’

So I know, Mr. Chairman, that in just a couple of months at the 

upcoming Summit of the Americas our nation will demonstrate 

that we Americans do fully grasp the significance of our commonality with our neighbors in the region and I am confident that 

recent changes by the Obama administration to U.S.-Cuba policy 

and other forward-looking policy changes toward Latin America 

and the Caribbean will put America more in sync with our regional 

allies. 

Let me just say this as I close that I am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today about the significance of the monumental changes on the horizon for our region and how we might 

embrace and advance a common agenda in the months ahead. 

I have read your testimony and I know that you have an expansive wealth of knowledge to gain and I have to gain from your 

knowledge. I look forward to hearing your testimony. Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you, Mr. Meeks. 

The Chair will recognize Mr. Emmer from Minnesota for 1 

minute. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Tom Emmer and 

I am from Minnesota. I want to thank you and Ranking Member 

Sires. 

I am excited to serve on this subcommittee because of the strategic importance of the region to the United States and the entire 

world. Serving as a major trade, energy and economic region, the 

Western Hemisphere offers numerous emerging opportunities to 

the United States today and for the decades to come. 

I am looking forward to learning—listening and learning from 

my colleagues and meeting and working with leaders from the region to continue to advance more transparent and open cooperation 

between the U.S. and members of the Western Hemisphere and I 

look forward to working specifically on issues of energy, trade, diplomatic relations and security during the 114th Congress. 

Again, I am honored to be part of this subcommittee and I can’t 

wait to get to work. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. I am taking in order members’ arrival. 

So Mr. Yoho from Florida is recognized for 1 minute. 

Mr. YOHO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations on 

chairing this committee. I look forward to it and working with you 

on this. 

I think this is a great first hearing that will let new members—

new members to the subcommittee like myself really get an overview of the Western Hemisphere and the implications in the region 

that it has for our national security and economy. 

You know, I grew up in—I was born in Minnesota but I have 

lived in Florida 52 of my 60 years and it is home to me and I have 

9

had the pleasure of working as a large animal veterinarian in Florida for 30 years, and we deal a lot with the farmers and ranchers 

we have gotten to know and the extension of the agricultural sector 

into the South America mainly. 

And I look forward to bolstering those and I look forward to 

strengthening our relationships in the whole Latin American and 

Western Hemisphere and the security in the region, I think, is utmost that we pay attention. 

I have got members in the—family members in the Coast Guard 

and I hear daily of stories of the narco trade, the illegal immigration, human trafficking and I look forward to bringing some common sense resolutions to that to make our nation stronger as we 

bolster our relationship with those countries; and I look forward to 

hearing from the experts here and I know we are going to have a 

productive 2 years, and thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I thank the gentleman. 

The Chair will recognize the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, now the chairman of the Asia 

and the Pacific Subcommittee, Mr. Salmon, for an opening statement of 1 minute. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

My top priority is just to do whatever I can to make you look 

good and my second priority is just do whatever the gentlewoman 

from Florida tells me to do. 

The third thing is I really am very, very concerned about a phenomena we saw last year that really had strong implications in my 

state with regard to Guatemala and El Salvador and the whole 

Central America problem with unaccompanied minors at the border. 

I think we are going to see it again in a very big way, and we 

have never really done anything to resolve it. The House worked 

its will last August and passed legislation which the Senate never 

took up. 

But it hasn’t gone away. We don’t know exactly why it tapered 

off. A lot of people think it was just weather. But the violence in 

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador continues. The drug trafficking 

and the gangs that bolster that drug trafficking, the coyotes—all of 

those things have not gone away. 

There are great things happening in the Western Hemisphere—

great exciting things, and you have noted a lot of them. But there 

are some real challenges too and they are showing up right at our 

door and causing some real serious issues within our country and 

I hope we get a handle on it. 

I hope it is something that we intend to focus some attention on, 

because, as we went to the border of Guatemala and Mexico and 

saw first hand with General Kelly what was going on right there 

in terms of drug trafficking, people trafficking, gun trafficking, it 

hadn’t gone away and I really hope that we focus some attention 

and ultimately address it as a Congress and try to get it fixed. 

Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I am just 

really following up and continuing your great work. So the Chair 

will recognize Mr. Castro from Texas for 1 minute. 

10

Mr. CASTRO. Thank you, Chairman. It is an honor to serve on 

this subcommittee. I think the task for us in the years ahead is to 

continue to develop the infrastructures for diplomacy, economic development and cooperation within the Western Hemisphere. 

There are things that happen in Latin America that if they happened in other parts of the world this body, the Congress, and the 

United States would respond much more swiftly and much more 

strongly, and I will use the example that Chairman Salmon pointed 

out. 

We had a subcommittee hearing on all the kids that came from 

Central America. But there was never a full committee hearing on 

that situation. That needs to change in the future. We need to attend to this region much better than we have before. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I thank the gentleman. 

Mr. Lowenthal from California is recognized for 1 minute. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you, Chairman Duncan and Ranking 

Member Sires. I want to thank you both for holding this important 

hearing focusing on the Western Hemisphere and its relationship 

to our U.S. interests. 

As a first time member of this subcommittee and as a former legislator for southern California and also as a former professor at Cal 

State Long Beach where I had the very good fortune of spending 

a year sabbatical at the University of Yucatan, I am really pleased 

to be focusing much more on our relationship with Mexico and Central America and parts of the region, especially since so many of 

the families in my region, in my district, are directly impacted by 

events that occur in the region. 

I am here to learn, as the chairman asked me, also what would 

be my focus. As I pointed out, I am an educator. I would like to 

see, with 28 percent poverty, how we work with the region in terms 

of educational opportunities, how—what are the successes in education. 

I am also concerned about our collaboration on the energy and 

climate partnership, on clean energy and I would like to understand what that means and how that works; and I, too, would like 

to understand more about unaccompanied minors, both the causes 

and potential solutions than what we have and I thank you for 

holding this hearing. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you, Mr. Lowenthal. 

And the Chair will now recognize the former chairman of the full 

committee and a mentor of mine, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen from Florida. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Well, thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. It 

is a pleasure and a privilege to serve on your subcommittee. I think 

it is important to note that, according to financial reports, U.S. producers export three times more to Latin America than they do to 

China. 

Thirteen out of 17 Latin American countries import more goods 

from our country—from the United States than from any other 

country in the world. 

So even those countries with strong anti-American rhetoric silently continue to do business with us as sources for trade and investment and that is where we need to take a real deep look at our 

region. 

11

As we have seen with the misguided secret negotiations with 

Cuba, our foreign policy seems to have left democracy and human 

rights as distant priorities. This is an unacceptable premise for our 

country, the greatest democracy in the world. 

Our policies toward our hemisphere must champion democratic 

freedoms and fundamental rights whether it is my native homeland of Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, and I know, 

Mr. Chairman, that under your leadership this subcommittee will 

continue to do our investigation about Iran’s destabilizing role in 

Latin America; and I know that we will look at the murder of 

Alberto Nisman, the AMIA Jewish Community Center prosecutor, 

and the mystery surrounding his death. 

So thank you, Mr. Chairman. I can’t think of anyone who could 

be a better chairman except, of course, Mr. Salmon—both equally 

good. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Well, nobody could beat Matt Salmon. But anyway, 

thank you, and the last member to be recognized, Ms. Kelly from 

Illinois, for 1 minute. 

Ms. KELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am both thrilled to be on 

Foreign Affairs and also on this committee. I am very interested in 

learning as much as I can and, also, I want us to develop ways we 

can partner in peace and fair trade that we can all benefit from no 

matter the country. 

This committee was of particular interest because, representing 

Chicago, I have a significant Mexican and Polish population. Also, 

as a Chicago rep with crime pipelines that have links to Latin 

America, I am very concerned about transnational crime, drug trafficking and illicit finance. Those are both big concerns. 

And, lastly, I am interested in finding ways we can continue to 

find productive and positive ways to build our relationship with 

Cuba and its people. 

Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I thank the members, and from what I am hearing 

we are going to have a very active and beneficial time to make us 

all better congressmen and make the committee effective; and 

make the United States a better partner in the region. 

So we can’t do that at every committee hearing but so I need to 

say that pursuant to Committee Rule 7 members of the subcommittee will be permitted to submit written statements to be included in the official hearing record. 

Without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 5 days 

to allow statements, questions and extraneous materials for the 

record subject to the length and limitation in the rules. 

So now it is a pleasure of mine to introduce our distinguished 

panel today and the first panelist is Dr. Shannon O’Neil. Dr. O’Neil 

is a senior fellow for Latin American studies on the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Her expertise includes U.S.-Latin American relations, trade, energy and immigration. She also directed CFR’s independent task 

force on North America, ‘‘Time for a New Focus’’—I think there is 

a copy of the book at your desk—as well as an independent task 

force on ‘‘U.S.-Latin America Relations: A New Direction for a New 

Reality.’’

12

Dr. O’Neil holds an MA in international relations from Yale and 

a Ph.D. in government from Harvard. 

Our second panelist is Ms. Bonnie Glick. Ms. Glick served as senior vice president—serves currently as senior vice president for 

Global Connect Division at Meridian International Center. 

Prior to joining Meridian, Ms. Glick served 12 years as a U.S. 

diplomat in the Department of State. She served in the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua and in the period immediately after 

the electoral defeat of the Sandinistas. It is an interesting—I would 

like to talk with you more about that. 

Ms. Glick also holds an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland. 

Our third panelist, Dr. Evan Ellis—Dr. Evan Ellis is a research 

professor in Latin American studies and an accomplished author. 

He has given testimony on Chinese activities in Latin America to 

the U.S Congress, and has discussed his work regarding China and 

other external sectors in Latin America on various media outlets. 

Dr. Ellis holds a Ph.D. in political science from Purdue with a 

specialization in comparative politics. 

And our last panelist, Mr. Eric Farnsworth—Mr. Farnsworth is 

vice president of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society. 

Mr. Farnsworth began his career in Washington with the U.S. Department of State. He also served as senior advisor to the White 

House Special Envoy for the Americas. 

He holds an MBA in international relations from Princeton’s 

Woodrow Wilson School and we are glad you guys are here. I have 

enjoyed getting to know Eric and look forward to talking with him 

more. 

So we have got a lighting system. We are going to recognize each 

of the panelists for 5 minutes. That also goes for the committee. 

When we get to the question period we are going to adhere to 

the 5-minute rule, and I will try to adhere to that as closely as possible due to the essence of time. So if you hear a light tapping and 

not a—then that means wrap it up with a sentence. 

I don’t want to go to the second part of that. So we would like 

to try to stay on time. So before I recognize you to provide your testimony I am going to continue to—I have already explained that. 

So after our witnesses testify we will have 5 minutes to ask questions and so, Dr. O’Neil, I am going to start with you. It is kind 

of strange how the committee has been set up. Usually it runs the 

other way in recognizing them but we are going to start on the 

right. 

Dr. O’Neil, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SHANNON K. O’NEIL, PH.D., SENIOR FELLOW 

FOR LATIN AMERICA STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 

Ms. O’NEIL. Great. Good morning. So Mr. Chairman, Ranking 

Member and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to testify today and I am grateful for the subcommittee’s interest on the Council on Foreign Relations’ Independent Task Force 

on North America, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to disVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:20 Apr 28, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_WH\020315\93156 SHIRL
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cuss it and the strategic importance of North America for U.S. interests. 

And if it would be acceptable to the chair, I would like to have 

the entirety of the referenced task force report entered into the 

record. 

Now, home to nearly 500 million people living in three vibrant 

democracies, North America today is an economic global powerhouse. At over $20 trillion, the three nations of Canada, Mexico, 

and the United States account for over a quarter of global GDP. 

Moreover, North America is increasingly interdependent as geography, markets, policies, the choices of millions of individuals and 

the choices of hundreds and thousands of companies have transformed it into one of the most integrated regions in the world. 

And given these deep and indelible links, a stronger North America can only enhance U.S. competitiveness, U.S. security and wellbeing and it can also bolster U.S. influence globally. 

Now, in my time here I want to talk about two opportunities in 

particular that stand out for areas of cooperation and these are energy and economic competitiveness. 

Starting with energy—never before have the energy prospects of 

these three nations been so dynamic as they have been transformed by new energy finds in the three nations, by new technologies and by new rules, particularly in Mexico, that are together 

unleashing an unanticipated potential. 

An increasing energy production so far has brought jobs, it has 

boosted economic growth and it has lowered prices for industrial 

and individual consumers in all three nations. 

Now, as each of these three countries undergo their own changes 

and transformations, energy should become a fundamental pillar 

for the North American partnership. Greater regional cooperation 

and integration will boost economic, geopolitical, and environmental benefits for these three nations. 

To truly harness North America’s energy promise, the United 

States should work closely with its neighbors to integrate North 

America’s energy markets. So this will involve significant investment in resources, in cross border infrastructure and electricity 

grids, so physically linking North America’s energy fields, refineries 

and markets. 

It will also mean developing regional energy strategies and environmental standards, coordinating on issues such as regulations, 

safety procedures, energy efficiency guidelines and technologies for 

lower carbon energy. 

Common efforts like these will better ensure the three countries 

benefit from the potential economic gains while also reaching environmental and carbon objectives. 

Now, let me turn to North America’s economic potential. Now, 

over the past two decades North America’s economic ties have 

deepened dramatically by virtually all measures. 

Today, each of these nations is the others’ largest trading partners with intra-regional trade of over $1 trillion a year, and as important is the changed nature of this trade, reflecting the rise of 

a truly regional production platform. 

So rather than sending each other finished products the United 

States, Mexico and Canada today trade in pieces and parts. So this 

14

back and forth along assembly lines, between plants and between 

these countries in the making of every car, every plane, every flat 

screen TV or computer it means for every item that is imported 

from Mexico to the United States, 40 percent of its value on average, was actually made in the United States and for Canada the 

number is 25 percent. 

And it is precisely through this integration of joint production of 

goods that the United States, Canada, and Mexico have become 

more efficient and competitive together than they would have been 

alone. 

And as this new Congress begins its work, made in North America should be a foundation of U.S. policy. So this means working 

toward the free unimpeded movement of goods and services across 

North America’s common borders. 

This will require reducing non-tariff barriers, revising rules of origin, mutually recognizing or harmonizing differing regulations, expanding preclearance or other proven programs for trusted travellers, and investing in border infrastructure necessary to speed 

trade and travel. 

It also means prioritizing and completing free trade agreements 

with which the United States, Canada, and Mexico are all part, 

specifically today the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and it should 

mean incorporating our North American neighbors and other free 

trade agreements we consider including the Trans-Atlantic Trade 

and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, with Europe. 

Now, the costs of not engaging our neighbors are even higher 

than they have been in the past. In a world of regional blocs, deepening U.S. ties with its economic allies and particularly its neighbors will help maintain our national competitiveness, and America’s dream of energy self-sufficiency depends, too, on its neighbors, 

on linking energy and electricity grids to ensure safe, stable and 

resilient supplies. 

The United States is already a global superpower but with its 

neighbors it could extend its reach even further, and so I would ask 

you as policy makers to put North America at the forefront of your 

imaginations and, importantly, on your agendas. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. O’Neil follows:]

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Mr. DUNCAN. And the Chair will recognize Ms. Glick for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MS. BONNIE GLICK, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, 

GLOBALCONNECT DIVISION, MERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL 

CENTER 

Ms. GLICK. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member and members of the 

committee, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am here 

representing Meridian International Center, a Washington, DCbased nonprofit that focuses on the promotion of global leadership 

through international engagement. 

I also come in my capacity as a former executive of the IBM Corporation and as a former Foreign Service officer. By crossing sectors from public to private to nonprofit, I have seen the impact that 

U.S. engagement in the Western Hemisphere can have and today 

I will focus my remarks on the economic importance of remaining 

engaged with our neighbors to the south. 

I would like to say that the importance of Latin America is best 

summed up in a Spanish word, intercambio. An intercambio is an 

interchange, kind of a clumsy word in English but quite elegant in 

what it implies. 

We no longer teach or train our neighbors. It is no longer a oneway street. The intercambios that exist today are really the superhighways of information and knowledge exchange. All parties involved benefit and this leads to economic growth. 

Emerging market country strategies have for years focused on 

moving up the value chain in terms of their exports, producing 

higher valued goods and services. Several Latin American countries’ economies have seen successes that mirror the Asian Tigers. 

I will call these the Latin American Tigres. 

When U.S. companies are looking for countries in which to invest, countries where there are good prospects for growth, long 

term return on their investments and strong partnerships, it 

makes sense to look toward Latin America. 

The global economy calls for the diversification of investments 

and successful countries where we have used our bilateral government-to-government relationships based mostly on foreign assistance and dependency have morphed into countries where businesses can have relationships based on mutual interests and 

growth. 

Colombia is an example of U.S. foreign assistance that worked. 

Today, Colombia is a thriving democracy and an example of an economic and financial powerhouse in the region. Medellin, once the 

drug capital of the world, is now one of the leading financial and 

industrial centers in Latin America. 

This once profoundly dangerous city is now listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the 10 best cities in the world for international retirees. Colombia is now a Latin Tigre. Another example of its success is in the oil industry. Colombia’s oil giant, Ecopetrol, is a para 

statal company that is well managed with revenues of nearly $38 

billion. 

The current downturn in oil prices has certainly impacted 

Ecopetrol, but its asset base and reserves will allow it to weather 

the economic storm. 

22

Colombia lets the world know that it is open for business. Indeed, in 2014 it rose from spot number 53 to number 34 on the 

World Bank’s ease of doing business index. 

Brazil is the biggest player in South America. Its period of prosperity when the BRIC was the preeminent force of nature in 

emerging markets began in the late ’90s with the government decision to privatize some of Brazil’s Government-owned enterprises. 

Moving massive and poorly performing industries into private 

hands led to sustained growth of around 5 percent per year. 

However, the Brazilian Government has often looked at the economic miracle of Brazil as a means to provide expanded, and sometimes unaffordable, services to the country’s large population. 

Brazil has now become a burdensome place to do business, and 

it is near the bottom of the list of the World Bank’s ease of doing 

business index in the unenviable 120th spot. But international investors, including Americans, will not flee from Brazil. 

Brazil has the largest offshore oil discovery on Earth. The deepwater offshore exploration and production will continue and expand 

in the decades to come. Brazil’s oil industry, with the opportunities 

for investment by American oil companies, means that U.S. oil can 

diversify their holdings and can weather global economic storms 

with less risk. 

This mitigated risk allows those same American companies to expand operations and employment very directly in the United States 

and in other operations abroad. 

U.S. equipment manufacturers can generate significant sales, in 

turn boosting our own economy and stimulating job creation at 

home. For many years, Chile held a role as the darling among 

Latin American countries that is slowly being supplanted by Columbia. 

Chile remains a financial and mining industry giant in the region, but the newly returned presidency of Michelle Bachelet has 

many an industry seeing the return of more socialist tendencies 

that are less business friendly. The new tax regime will be the first 

test of the global business community’s patience with Chile. 

Today, I would like to discuss briefly Mexico in the context of its 

multilateral role in the newly formed trade bloc known as the Pacific Alliance. 

Mexico wields a tremendous amount of influence due in no small 

part to its proximity to the world’s economic golden goose—us. 

Mexico currently sits at spot number 39 on the World Bank’s ease 

of doing business index and Mexico is the lynchpin country forming 

the Pacific Alliance, as mentioned by the chairman—a free trade 

area comprised of Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. 

It was formed in 2013 as a counterbalance to the Mercosur trade 

bloc. The Pacific Alliance counterweight, though, packs quite a 

punch. In its first year, the Pacific Alliance’s trade with external 

partners outpaced Mercosur’s, and this pattern appears likely to 

continue. 

This newly formed trade bloc of Latin American Tigres shows 

great promise in the global economy with average annual growth 

of 4.2 percent. We should not relax, however, and think that U.S. 

companies can sit back and reap the rewards from relationships 

that are driven by geography. 

23

The name of the emerging trade bloc gives clues as to its orientation. The Pacific Alliance means a pivot to Asia. Indeed, the superhighway I referenced earlier is every bit a present day reality. 

American businesses must fasten their seatbelts for the ride. 

Businesses should remain engaged so as not to lose market share 

to China and the Asian Tigers. Engagement, investment, collaboration, partnership, and active participation all ensure that our businesses will grow, will continue to maintain a footprint in the most 

stable region of the world outside North America, and will create 

jobs and investment opportunities for Americans at home and 

abroad. 

I thank you very much for your time today. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Glick follows:]

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Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. 

I am going to ask the witnesses try and stay on time, if you can. 

Dr. Ellis, you are recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF EVAN ELLIS, PH.D., AUTHOR 

Mr. ELLIS. Thank you. Chairman Duncan, Ranking Member 

Sires, distinguished committee members, thank you for the opportunity to share my analysis with you today. I will summarize my 

written remarks for the committee. 

I wish to highlight the four challenges in Latin America and the 

Caribbean—organized crime, Russia, Islamic radicalism, and 

China. 

The passage of drugs, immigrants, and illicit goods through the 

region to the United States continues to fuel criminal organizations, deepening the crisis violence and the lack of opportunity in 

those societies. 

El Salvador’s facilitation of a truce between Mara Salvatrucha 

and Barrio 18 in 2012 and the Guatemalan President Otto Perez 

Molina’s appeal to legalize drugs to reduce the violence and criminality in his country shows just how desperate the situation has 

become. 

Trans-Pacific crime also merits more attention. Recent examples 

include the sourcing of precursor chemicals by the Sinaloa cartel 

from Chinese mafias, metal ore shipments to China from cartelcontrolled parts of Michoacan and the use of Chinese banks to 

launder money by the Brazilian gang First Capital Command. 

Russia—Russia is the external actor which has most openly challenged the United States in Latin America. Since 2008, it has repeatedly deployed military aircraft, warships, and submarines close 

to the United States including three port calls in Havana by the 

signals intelligence ship Viktor Leonov most recently on January 

20th, the day before our U.S. Government team headed toward Havana to meet with Cuban officials. 

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said last February that 

his country seeks to resupply and maintain its warships in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela; to operate its military aircraft from 

their airfields, and possibly to reopen the Cold War era surveillance facility at Lourdes, Cuba. 

Last November, Minister Shoigu further said that Russia would 

send long-range bombers to fly patrols near the U.S. including in 

the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. 

Iran—Iran has used Embassy personnel to recruit terrorists in 

the region including those by Mohsen Rabbani, who developed networks of operatives throughout region such as the Guyanese emir 

and Islamic radical Abdul Kadir sentenced in 2010 for the plot to 

attack the JFK Airport. 

Latin America is also a source of terrorist financing including the 

narco trafficker Chekry Harb and the money launderer Ayman 

Joumaa, who channeled part of their drug earnings to Hezbollah 

and other terrorist organizations. 

Terrorists also conduct operations in the region. Just 3 months 

ago, for example, Hezbollah operative Muamad Amadar was arrested near Lima, Peru, stockpiling explosives for use in that country. 

34

The recent suspicious death of Argentine special prosecutor, 

Alberto Nisman, the day before his testimony to the Argentine 

Congress does raise disturbing questions about the current Argentine Government’s relationship with Iran. 

China—the PRC has most significantly impacted the region’s security environment although not openly challenging the United 

States. Of the more than $100 billion it has loaned to the region 

since 2005, three-quarters of that have gone to the ALBA regimes 

in Argentina, helping to keep governments like Venezuela’s solvent 

so that they could continue to operate as bases for criminals and 

as entry points for other actors who would do us harm. 

China has also chosen CELAC, which excludes the United States 

and Canada, rather than the Organization of American States as 

its preferred vehicle for building its relationships with the region. 

The PRC has expanded its military activities in Latin America, 

undermining U.S. efforts to remain the security partner of choice. 

In October 2013, while Washington was distracted by the budget 

crisis, a PLA naval flotilla for the first time conducted combat exercises with our allies in Chile as well as with Brazil. 

Chinese companies sell military aircraft, helicopters, satellites, 

trucks and armored vehicles to both U.S. partners and its adversaries in the region and possibly sales to Argentina of the FC–1 

fighter, the P–18 Corvette, the X–11 helicopter and the V–1 armored personnel carrier. 

My recommendations—there is a need to think more strategically 

about the contribution of Latin America and the Caribbean to U.S. 

national security and prosperity; to see it as more than simply a 

source of drugs and immigrants that needs to be controlled. 

The U.S. rapprochement with Cuba and the April Summit of the 

Americas provide an opportunity to reinvigorate the OAS as the 

premier multilateral institution for the Americas. The U.S. can also 

facilitate engagements by other actors whose priorities are consistent with our objectives in the region including India, Japan, 

and South Korea. 

I also recommend greater attention to how in a major conflict involving the United States elsewhere in the world our adversaries 

might use their commercial position and assets in the region to 

shape the outcome by impacting U.S. coalition formation, deployments, sustainment, and political will. 

Finally, we need to be clear to ourselves where we draw the line 

regarding activities by extra hemisphere actors in the region that 

potentially threaten our national security and, further, to make 

those lines known to them in less ambiguous terms than has occurred to date. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ellis follows:]

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Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. And the Chair will recognize Mr. 

Farnsworth for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ERIC FARNSWORTH, VICE PRESIDENT, 

COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS AND AMERICAS SOCIETY 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good 

morning. Congratulations to you for your chairmanship. 

Thank you, Mr. Salmon, for his previous leadership and let me 

also thank Mr. Sires for your continued interest in these issues. To 

Mr. Meeks, it is wonderful to have you back, sir. We are looking 

forward to working with all of you in a bipartisan manner. 

Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member, I would submit to you 

today that strategic U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere are 

as profound as our interests almost anywhere else on the globe. 

The region is directly connected to our own day to day well-being 

from economic prosperity and growth to national and energy security and promotion of our most fundamental values. 

Let us be clear eyed about this. Our most immediate neighbors 

have the greatest impact on our strategic interests. It is significant 

and consequential that we have a northern neighbor, Canada, 

which is both our top trade partner and top energy supplier and 

which is stalwart in working with us to address the toughest global 

challenges. 

At the same time, North America, including Mexico, our second 

largest export market and also our third largest energy supplier, 

is becoming a fully integrated production platform with tightly knit 

supply chains and ever deepening commercial ties. 

As China and other nations have emerged to challenge the preexisting global economic order, the ties that bind us within North 

America have created economic efficiencies, built competitiveness 

and directly contributed to the economic growth our citizens both 

desire and deserve. 

The challenges that Mexico continues to face on the security side 

are also our concern because they undermine the rule of law, vacuum up resources and have the potential to spill over onto us. So 

it is therefore critically important that we get relations with our 

two most immediate neighbors right. 

Beyond North America, it is profoundly in the self-interest of the 

United States to see a hemisphere where every nation is, in Vice 

President Biden’s words, middle class, democratic, and secure. 

These are precisely the characteristics that define our best, longest lasting, and most effective global partnerships, and it is also 

why we believe so strongly that trade and investment expansion in 

the Western Hemisphere is a strategic issue. 

In the first instance, trade and investment supports our own economic strength and security, as the President noted during his 

State of the Union Address in January, and we heard a number of 

statistics from Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen so I won’t repeat that 

in terms of the importance of the Western Hemisphere to the U.S. 

economy. 

At the same time, trade and investment also support efforts to 

build and strengthen middle classes abroad, breaking down traditionally restrictive patterns of economic organization and offering 

50

greater opportunities to grow and innovate, supported by the rule 

of law. 

Formal trade agreements reinforce these activities while linking 

our economies closer together on a more permanent basis consistent with U.S. values. We can do more and we should, and I 

have several specific ideas along these lines in my written testimony. 

Nonetheless, while regional economic progress over the past decade is noteworthy, continued success is not guaranteed. The dramatic fall in oil prices is already straining regional economies and 

reducing the growth on which continued poverty reduction depends. 

Hydrocarbons are plentiful across the Western Hemisphere and, 

Mr. Chairman, you made that point very eloquently already, directly supporting U.S. energy security but petroleum dependent nations like Venezuela and its client states in the Caribbean Basin, 

among others, are now in deep economic trouble, having squandered immense wealth generated during the past decade of high 

energy prices. 

And there is perhaps nothing more motivating for dramatic, even 

radical, political change that fosters populism or potentially worse 

than fear and prospects for economic stagnation or retrenchment 

and one needs to look no further than the recent elections in 

Greece to prove that particular point. 

It is therefore also in our strategic interest to promote broad 

based economic growth in Central America and the Caribbean, and 

there is a significant role here for Congress. 

As we were starkly reminded by the summer—by the summer of 

2014 crisis of unaccompanied minors on our southwestern border, 

most of whom came from Central America, families will take desperate measures when their livelihoods are at stake and their personal security and the rule of law cannot be guaranteed. These 

issues are interconnected, significantly exacerbated if not caused by 

the illegal drug trade and gang culture in a number of countries. 

That is one reason why it is so important that we have full economic and security cooperation with both of the drug transit and 

drug producing nations including across the full range of cyber 

crime law enforcement and why it is so harmful when such cooperation breaks down, as we have seen with regard to Venezuela. 

Beyond the pressing need to improve dramatically the personal 

security profile in parts of the region, however, the Western Hemisphere is, thankfully, a region largely at peace with only last 

vestiges of guerrilla conflict ongoing in Colombia. 

With that nation actively involved in the peace process, which 

the United States has done so much to enable through our active 

policy and financial support for the Colombian people on a bipartisan basis, we must now begin to think in terms of supporting the 

peace once an agreement is struck. 

And finally, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member, if I could 

offer just a very brief word about Latin America and the Caribbean 

in the overall global environment. 

No longer can we assume that we can engage solely on our own 

terms. We must increasingly contend for the region in the manner 

that we traditionally have not had to do. 

51

China’s growing presence and long-term commitment is change 

in the economic and political dynamic. At the same time, Brazil’s 

rise has been universally and appropriately praised but with its interest in developing an increasing global profile, coupled with an 

increased capacity to realize greater ambitions, we must also recognize the Brazilian pursuit of its own foreign policy interests does 

not always coincide with our preferences. 

That is okay. Competition is good in both politics and business. 

But it does mean that we have to engage meaningfully with the region on a sustained and creative basis, finding ways to promote our 

interests effectively by working closely in partnership with others 

wherever we can while recognizing the rapidly changing nature of 

hemispheric relations. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to 

your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Farnsworth follows:]

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Mr. DUNCAN. I want to thank all the witnesses for those great 

opening testimonies. You know, sitting here listening I am thinking 

we could talk about U.S. policy in Cuba, Venezuela and their energy sector and economic problems, unaccompanied children, upcoming elections in the region, Canada and Keystone Pipeline, 

Mexico reforms in the energy sector and other reforms or the 43 

children and their death. 

We could talk about Argentina and Alberto Nisman. We could 

talk about Iran and the Iranian threat and activity in the hemisphere, energy in the region, the opportunities in the Caribbean 

and energy as a whole, TPP and trade, trade and the Panama 

Canal, the successes in Colombia, and those were just the things 

I wrote down in the last 30 seconds of your statement. 

There is a lot of different areas we could talk about and so let 

us get started. I recognize myself for 5 minutes and then I will take 

it to the ranking member and then in order. 

One thing that concerns me and a lot of folks is the visa waiver 

program and what we see with terrorism acts in Paris and what 

the visa waiver program may mean going forward to safety and security in the United States. 

And so, Ms. O’Neil, you talked about—a little bit about 

preclearance, which I think preclearance and visa waiver are two 

different issues but they are very similar. 

One year ago this month, Chile was designated the 38th participant in the visa waiver program and Brazil and Uruguay have indicated an interest in that program, and so when I think about the 

Iranian threat in the Western Hemisphere, the visa waiver program and all of these things, I would like to ask you to delve into 

that a little bit more. 

In a case such as these do you believe that it will take—what 

will it take for these countries—Uruguay and Brazil—to make necessary changes that you talked about in your statement in order 

to adapt the visa waiver program and what are your thoughts on 

that, just real quickly, and I am going to move on? 

Ms. O’NEIL. Thank you. I mean, I think the preclearance type 

program—trusted traveller type programs of which visa waivers 

are part—can be a win-win situation and, one, because it allows us 

to process people faster but it also allows us to know who is coming 

and know a lot more about them than in traditional types of visa 

programs where you show up. 

And so the electronic—you know, submitting electronic information, having the information well beyond that person travels anywhere near the U.S. borders actually can be quite useful. 

Also, for countries to participate in these, as we have seen with 

Mexico and Canada which have much deeper and much broader 

types of programs because of the shared geographic borders, but in 

other countries that participate they too have a much better sense 

because of the types of standards they have to reach to participate 

with us. 

They too have much more information about who is in their 

country, who is—you know, should be there, who should not, 

whether citizens or visitors or the like. 

So I think in that sense in trying to make the whole region, the 

whole hemisphere more secure, in many ways visa waiver proVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:20 Apr 28, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_WH\020315\93156 SHIRL
57

grams can be very helpful, because it encourages, if not forces, 

those countries to come up to some standards in terms of the information that they have about their own people residing in their 

country and those who might then apply to come and visit us. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Right. Well, thank you for that and I will just for 

the record talk about Paraguay and a lot of the folks that come to 

Paraguay into that tri-border region on falsified documents and 

close proximity to Brazil and Uruguay really concerns me, and so 

thank you for that. 

I just want to ask Dr. Ellis, did you read the Department of 

State’s report on the Iranian threat in Western Hemisphere as required by Public Law 112–220? 

Mr. ELLIS. I have read it. 

Mr. DUNCAN. All five pages of it? So you talked a little bit about 

the Iranian threat. Do you think the State Department did the 

Public Law service in what they did? 

I personally don’t think they went far enough in what the law 

required and the intent. What are your thoughts on that? 

Mr. ELLIS. Thank you very much. I think it is a wonderful question, sir. To me, the State Department was correct on a technicality, but missed some of the bigger issues. I think, certainly, 

under President Rouhani Iran has lowered its profile in the region. 

It is unclear whether at the level—at the classified level whether 

things such as recruitment of radicals in Iran and Qom and other 

places and the madrassas continues or what the Quds Forces continue to do in the region. 

But beyond what Iran is diplomatically doing previously under 

Ahmadinejad, what concerns me also is a continuing role through 

Iran and in others of organizations such as Hezbollah which, clearly, continue to finance activities often in combination with terrorist 

organizations, and even if Iran itself has lowered its profile, I think 

the activities of Islamic radicals continue to be a significant threat 

that we need to keep our eye on. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. Something I will focus on is the Iranian 

threat. In the remaining time, I want talk to Ms. Glick about Colombia, the successes that we have seen in Colombia with the partnership, with the training there, helo pilots and the helicopter assistance the U.S. has given in pushing back the FARC and pushing 

back the narco trafficking. 

How can we take that Colombia model, in your opinion, and 

apply it to maybe other countries in the region? Is there opportunity in Nicaragua and Honduras, in your experience there? How 

do you see that Colombia model maybe being transported to other 

areas? 

Ms. GLICK. I think the key with Colombia is that we had an actively engaged partner in President Uribe in the time that we were 

negotiating and working with Plan Colombia. The United States invested, and I use that term deliberately, invested nearly $1 billion 

in Plan Colombia and we see a return on the investment. 

President Uribe, President Santos—they are able to engage with 

law enforcement as well as coordinating across the military and 

with civil society as well. There is volume. 

Mr. DUNCAN. You mentioned that. Let me ask you, do you think 

the judicial side of it—the civil society and judicial component of 

58

enforcement of rule of law—I personally think that is a vital aspect 

whether it is Mexico or whether it is Guatemala or whether it is 

other countries. So——

Ms. GLICK. That is entirely correct, sir, and to have that as a 

partner rather than just as an imposition from the United States, 

rather than us wagging our fingers and saying you have to do this, 

the Colombians actually did it and they took it on themselves to 

take back their country. 

So if we can get that similar type of engagement in Central 

America with governments there, heck yeah, we can move forward 

and we can have successes like we have in Colombia. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Are you familiar with what the Colombians are 

doing to train the law enforcement and judiciary folks from the 

Latin American countries, whether it is Guatemala, Honduras, 

Nicaragua? From what I understand, and I have seen some of it, 

some of the training, can you touch base on that? 

Ms. GLICK. I think, sir, I will have to get back to you with a little 

bit more detail. But the region looks at Colombia as a success and 

it is wonderful to then be able to see the region taking care of the 

region and that is what Colombia is coming out as a leader and 

doing. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I am going to highlight successes. Dr. O’Neil, are 

you familiar with what the Colombians are doing in that regard? 

Ms. O’NEIL. I am familiar with that, and in particular some of 

the work that they have done in Mexico. General Naranjo came up 

and was an advisor to Pena Nieto who had been the head of the 

national police in Colombia before he just went back recently. 

I think what is interesting when you think about models of Colombia for other places, particularly places like Mexico where all of 

us should have real concerns about, they have done the incredibly 

important economic reforms but they have yet to really institute a 

democratic rule of law and strengthen it throughout the country. 

One of the big lessons from Colombia, to me, which you just 

touched on, is that they also—their society chimed in and participated with Uribe and so Uribe, along with the money that we provided and the help, also instituted a wealth tax and that money 

went just for security and to two things. 

One, it gave them resources to fight the threats that they had, 

but it was also done in a very open and transparent way so there 

was not corruption involved. 

That money didn’t go in to the black hole of government, and so 

that also helped Colombia begin to clean up its institutions, which 

it has done. And so as Mexico or others, as we work with them, 

there are many things we can do, the Colombians can do as well. 

But they also need to bring along their society and have people 

invest in their own country and the public good of democratic rule 

of law. 

Mr. DUNCAN. All right. Well, thank you so much. My time is up. 

I will recognize the ranking member for 5 minutes. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Farnsworth, you know, as the price of oil declines it has 

taken a significant toll on other countries, especially in Venezuela. 

The Venezuelan people are suffering. Obviously, they have been 

suffering for a long time, shortages. Of course, President Maduro 

59

now blames Vice President Biden for all the troubles that he is 

having. 

Are we going to see mass protests? Are we—do you think he survives this? I mean, I have friends in Venezuela I talk to all the 

time and they can’t even get sanitary paper. 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Well, thank you, sir, for the question. I think 

it is a critically important, one, not just for the Venezuelan people, 

but also for the region as a whole and the truth of the matter is 

nobody really knows. 

That is certainly one thing that is being discussed actively at 

senior levels of councils all across the hemisphere. I would simply 

say that the situation has gotten dramatically worse, as you have 

said, since the death of Hugo Chavez. 

President Maduro has for a number of reasons proven incapable 

to change the course of Venezuela economically. Certainly, the 

price of energy has contributed directly to that, but that is not the 

only reason why Venezuela is in trouble. 

I would hesitate to sketch out what is going to happen and I 

think Yogi Berra had the great quote, ‘‘I don’t want to make predictions about the future,’’ but the fact of the matter is this is a 

very serious issue and it is an issue that I would contend isn’t just 

for the United States. 

I would like to see a very active role, for example, countries like 

Brazil, countries like Colombia, countries like Mexico, other regional countries to really take a leadership position here. At the recent meeting last week of the CELAC countries, for example, this 

did not seem to be a priority. 

At the Summit of the Americas in April in Panama, it could be 

a priority, because ultimately if this goes from bad to worse or 

worse to worst, we are going to see a humanitarian crisis and I 

think that it is in nobody’s interest, clearly, not the Venezuelan 

people. 

Mr. SIRES. And I have read reports where supposedly Cuba has 

over 30,000 people in Venezuela and they are basically propping up 

the army and security. 

I was just wondering, with all that and the declining of oil prices 

and all these Caribbean countries depending on Venezuela for petroleum, where do these countries go now if something happens 

there? 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Well, let me—if I can just follow up with that 

and then just a couple comments. But I think this was precisely 

the reason why the Vice President recently called together and 

then they met later with all, the leaders of the Caribbean Basin, 

to talk about energy security in the Caribbean Basin. 

There are a number of things we can do on clean energy, for example, but one of the things I would like to see would be a much 

more aggressive use of natural gas exports into the Caribbean 

Basin. 

It is a cleaner energy. It is plentiful in terms of the United 

States, and it is an energy source that could be employed in the 

Caribbean Basin with some improvements in terms of infrastructure, transportation, what have you. 

But we have not, since the first Caribbean Basin initiative in the 

early 1980s, really seen the Caribbean Basin in a strategic way and 

60

I think we have the opportunity now, certainly, because of the 

changes that have happened exogenously through the energy markets globally, we have the opportunity to change the way we look 

at the Caribbean Basin including Central America into a more 

strategic way with energy as an important tool that really 

undergirds that new approach. 

Trade, energy, people to people, tourism, I mean, these are all 

issues that I think will go a very long way sort of to trying to address the question of where do these countries, which are in very 

difficult conditions financially, where do they go next and I think 

we can be an obvious answer to that. 

Mr. SIRES. Dr. O’Neil? 

Ms. O’NEIL. Let me just add one brief comment. One is that the 

cost of the end of subsidized oil is somewhat less, given the fallen 

oil prices. 

So if these countries are buying on world markets it is much less 

than it would have been in the past. But I do think this is an area 

for North America, and as our production—Canada, United States 

and hopefully Mexico—with the changing rules, as our production 

of gas, of oil, of other energies increases that looking at the region, 

looking at stability and resiliency and particularly where the Caribbean fits in, I think this is an area where we can work with our 

neighbors to provide a much more secure local geography including 

them. 

Mr. ELLIS. I just want to add two quick comments. One is that 

there are—not all of the nations in the Caribbean are particularly 

happy with the prospect of increased U.S. gas exports, specifically 

Trinidad and Tobago, and also while it does not always involve explicitly energy exports, China has stepped up in a major way offering credits to the region as we saw at the recent China CELAC 

conference in Beijing, and in many ways although energy dependence and worries about Venezuela plays favorably to the United 

States, as we saw from our recent initiative, it also helps to push 

those nations farther into the hands of China with respect to China’s potential aid to them. 

Mr. SIRES. You know, a few years ago—I go to Colombia often 

and a few years ago I had the opportunity to have dinner with one 

of the presidents of the university, and he made a statement to me. 

He says that the second most foreign language studied in Colombia is Mandarin. Is that accurate? I assume it is. He told me 

but——

Mr. ELLIS. I suppose it depends on whether it is a public or private university. There definitely is a significant increase in Mandarin language studies. 

A few years ago, to the extent that there was any knowledge in 

Colombia of Asia, it was primarily Japan. But we have certainly 

seen in some of the most prestigious universities, at Universidad 

Externado, Universidad de los Andes and others, there is an increase. But it is still a very marginal language. 

Mr. SIRES. One last question. Of the report of 30,000 Cubans in 

Venezuela, do you think that is accurate? 

Mr. ELLIS. It very well may be if you combine the doctors and 

medical trainers and others and, of course, the reports of significant penetration of the Venezuelan intelligence services. 

61

Mr. SIRES. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen from Florida, 5 minutes. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I don’t want to jump ahead of anybody here 

because I came kind of last. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Actually, you are next on the list. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. All right. I like it. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I believe so. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Well, then thank you so much. Mr. Chairman, as we look around the region, as these wonderful panelists 

have pointed out, what we see is deeply troubling. 

Democracy has been slowly eroding in the countries in the region 

by the hands of elected tyrants who use populist promises of reform 

and change and then they twist their systems into convenient arrangements where they retain the final word. 

And one needs no further proof to see how countries are following this undemocratic principles and have changed their constitutions to fit their whims like Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and leaders of these countries do not believe in the rule of 

law, separation of powers, constitutional order, free and fair elections, an impartial judicial system. 

We have seen how these leftist experiments have led many countries to curtail basic freedoms. These illegitimate institutions are 

often utilized for the financial advantage of members of their own 

regime to illicitly make money off the backs of their own suffering 

people. 

And corruption is one of the greatest problems facing the region 

at this point. An economy tainted with corruption cannot sustain 

an environment necessary to create the conditions for greater economic development. 

Venezuela is a good example of this. It is a sham of a country, 

and it is in great deal of corruption going on there. You see the 

store shelves literally empty yet Maduro goes on all of these fancy 

trips. 

They have archaic systems like artificial currency controls that 

are exploited by the connected elites and denied to the private sector. 

Many surrounding the regime have made themselves rich at the 

expense of the average Venezuelan, giving rise to the phenomenon 

of a self-professing socialist who display a great preference for owning luxury homes and luxury vehicles. 

And just recently Maduro arrested Venezuelans for the gall of 

having them wait in line for food, and has gone so far as arresting 

pharmaceutical executives and blaming them for the medical shortages in the country. 

In reality, as we know, Maduro has no one to blame but himself, 

and these are corrupt practices that are reprehensible and cannot 

but hurt the welfare of the people. Without a doubt, they are contributing factors to the near state of collapse that we see in Venezuela’s economy. 

And against corrupt abuses of this sort the U.S. must always be 

vigilant and its goal—our goal should always be clear to support 

and defend those who fight to expose and fight to end corruption. 

So I ask the panelists how can the United States help tackle institutional corruption in our own hemisphere. Is it possible to use 

62

the economic influence of our great country in the hemisphere in 

order to channel those countries into real and substantive democratic reforms? 

And is organized crime and a plummeting economy directed by 

Venezuela a security risk for the entire hemisphere, specifically for 

Caribbean countries? And I will leave it to anyone who would like 

to testify. Dr. Ellis, I think you were going to testify. 

Mr. ELLIS. Thank you—a wonderful question. For me, actually 

corruption is one of the centers of gravity for attacking the real 

malaise that is going on across the Americas right now. 

If I could quickly make another observation—that as was rightfully pointed out, Venezuela not only is a tragedy for some people, 

it is also a tragedy for the rest of the region. 

We can talk, for example, about Leamsy Salazar who recently 

came as cooperating with U.S. authorities and has made the claim 

that the current head of the Venezuelan Parliament, Diosdado 

Cabello, is actually the head of the largest narco trafficking organization, Cartel de los Soles. 

Essentially, the record amounts of cocaine that we are seeing 

coming through the Caribbean as well as destabilization of the Columbian borderlands, other places like that, Venezuela is not simply a problem for its own people. 

But with respect to corruption itself, there are in part technical 

solutions that our own engagement through State and DoD can 

support. There are some interesting things with respect to both institutionalization of things like lie detector tests but also institutional support. 

You had a case in Honduras not too long ago where a significant 

portion of the police force was identified as being corrupted and 

none of them were fired. So I think it is a combination of diplomatic pressure and others. 

But also I think a holistic whole of government solution is critical, because corruption is important to reestablishing the connection between the citizens and the government. Alvaro Uribe was 

mentioned before and to me part of the magic of what the success 

of Colombia is, and our Mexican allies hate when we gringos talk 

to them about the lessons of Colombia. 

But to me part of what was the systematic concept, the idea that 

you have to reestablish the faith of the government in its people 

and with that you get intelligence and investment and everything 

else. 

And so as I look at some of our plans, one of the things that I 

think is very important is that we not just add together individual 

programs but that we think about how are we going, little by little, 

to fight this systematically. Thank you. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much and I regret that I am 

out of time. Thank you , Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Dr. Ellis. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you, and, you know, with the Summit of the 

Americas coming up it is important to think about these issues and 

hopefully we can lead a congressional delegation there. 

The next gentleman that I am going to recognize has spent a lot 

of time in Latin America developing relationships. I saw that first 

hand on a Codel Royce back in November. So, Mr. Meeks, you are 

recognized for 5 minutes. 

63

Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and, you know, we looked 

at the challenges and I guess the—there is a lot of progress in the 

region also and you have nations like Brazil and Chile and Colombia and Uruguay and they are not just keeping economic gains at 

home. 

In fact, what I think is significant that they are sharing them in 

the form of now they are giving foreign aid themselves to some 

other countries, and democracies like Peru and Panama that have 

stood the test of time on making tremendous progress against unrelenting inequality, and they are growing the middle class and 

poverty is starting to reduce in those areas. 

And just a few days ago, Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller 

of Jamaica spoke here at the House about the enduring advancement in her nation and I am sure that there are many other 

CARICOM nations that are moving forward there. 

And then, you know, but I want to ask another quick question. 

I think that, Mr. Farnsworth, looking at the Council of the Americas, I don’t know, you all had something—you were either talking 

to somebody I need to talk to but when I looked at your latest issue 

where you talk about Cuba and Colombia or political change and 

peace finally at hand you must have known something that we 

didn’t know. 

This was in advance of some of the announcements that have 

come out and you talk about in there also though, which I want 

to ask a quick question about, which has been something that I 

have worked on a lot in Colombia and that is the plight of African 

Colombians because they are still in the middle as, you know, with 

negotiating peace they are still in the middle of the FARC battle 

and violence is happening in that area, et cetera. 

So given what is going on all over the place, could you basically 

just give us a quick—and there is a good article in this issue, by 

the way, on the plight of African Colombians in the middle of this 

war zone still continuing? 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Well, Mr. Meeks, thanks for the opportunity 

and thank you for the plug for our magazine. We appreciate it very 

much. 

You are really truly the expert on these issues so I hesitate to 

try even to respond to your question, but simply to say that these 

are not only critically important issues but they are issues that 

need to be addressed seriously because they stem from history, 

they stem from culture but they also stem from the idea of economic exclusion and when you—when you have societies that don’t 

fully value every person in society be it Afro-Colombians, be in the 

indigenous population, being folks with physical disabilities, what 

have you, this is critically important for the long-term development 

of the region as a prosperous middle class region that I think we 

all seek. 

You cannot pursue the same type of economic model across the 

region that has traditionally been pursued, which is to say that a 

certain smaller number of elites have access to power, have access 

to the levers of the economy, have access to the judicial system and 

can advance themselves and their families whereas the broader 

majority of people don’t have the same access. 

64

And that is what we have seen in some way as driving these 

changes that we have seen across the Western Hemisphere over 

the last 10 years or so, which is to say as democracy itself has become much more institutionalized, and that is a very good thing. 

You now have traditionally marginalized populations, which have 

access to political power and have been voting into power people, 

who want to make sure that the benefits of the modern state accrue to the broader population. 

That is a very good thing, in my judgment. Having said that, 

that does bring political changes and sometimes there are leaders 

who take a mandate and go too far with it, as we have seen from 

some of the countries that have already been mentioned. 

In the case of Colombia, however, I think it is accurate to say 

that the Colombian Government is aware of the issue, recognizes 

that more needs to be done, recognizes fundamentally that peace 

has to come to the region for all of Colombia, but also that you 

can’t just then bring peace and say okay, our job is done—that you 

then have to proactively work with the affected communities in 

terms of economic development, in terms of social inclusion and all 

the things that we might take for granted here in the United 

States. 

Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Farnsworth. Let me ask Dr. O’Neil 

a quick question because I agree with you. I am a big supporter 

of TPP and I think that it will go a long way. 

I believe that the groups that I am looking for like African Colombian and others benefit. In fact, when you look at Peru as they 

reduce their poverty some of it is because of the economic growth 

that they were able to gain as a result of our trade agreement with 

them. 

But, now, as we move toward TPP we know that—my question 

to you would be is how would TPP affect the U.S. trade relationships with other—with our existing partners like Colombia? 

Is it—will it also open the opportunity to more negotiation, 

maybe going back to talk about trade with the Americas—that 

when I first arrived at Congress we were talking about trade with 

the Americas, all of the, you know, countries in Latin America and 

in South America? 

Ms. O’NEIL. Well, many of our partners within the Western 

Hemisphere are included in the TPP negotiations. Colombia is not 

yet, as you well know, but would very much like to be included. 

So I think setting up this platform there is then an opening for 

countries like Colombia who would want to come in and accept 

what is—what has been negotiated and join this and one of the 

real benefits is as we look at world trade over the last 30 years it 

has changed in the way it is done in almost every country. 

We are not sending finished goods. We are sending—the majority 

of things are pieces and parts that are moving back and forth. And 

so in that free trade agreements are increasingly important in the 

Western Hemisphere, because it allows this comparative advantage 

that many countries have. It allows us to work together to create 

competitive products that can be sent wherever they are around 

the world. 

So I think these types of agreements, TPP, are incredibly important for actually bringing benefits and particularly the value added 

65

side that Ms. Glick was talking about. That is the future for us in 

the United States but also for these countries, for these middle 

classes for what we hope for them and we hope to work together 

with. And so there I do agree with you. 

I think these trade agreements are vital that we do that, and 

that once it is decided between the current negotiating partners 

that we open it up to those that want to join and some will not 

want to join, as we well know, but others will and so there is an 

open platform for them to join with us in this increasingly regional 

but global agreement. 

Mr. MEEKS. Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. The gentleman’s time has expired and 

now the Chair will recognize the newest member of the committee 

on the Republican side, Mr. Emmer, from Minnesota, for 5 minutes. 

Mr. EMMER. New Minnesota. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and Dr. 

O’Neil, if I could take you back. In your written testimony you advocate for energy to ‘‘become a fundamental pillar of North America’s new partnership.’’

If you could give a little bit more detail how should Canada, 

Mexico, and the U.S. work to deepen our trilateral relationship on 

energy and if you wouldn’t mind since in reference to an earlier 

question—I don’t remember who asked it but we were talking 

about the Caribbean Basin, maybe expand it into that. 

Ms. O’NEIL. I think there are many ways that we could deepen 

our ties, and right now is a very important moment to do so in part 

because Mexico is changing the rules in its energy sector. 

After 70-plus years of being closed and having been controlled 

only by a state-owned enterprise it is now going to be open for private investment and in the coming months they are going to do 

their first auctions, allowing in all sorts of national or all international energy companies, and it is really a time to right the rules 

there to create a very open, transparent, competitive and safe industry that will affect us, given our geographic proximity. 

So it is a moment to do so. I mean, one of the biggest things I 

believe is infrastructure, and we have seen with both of our neighbors, these are two of our largest energy partners and trade goes 

back and forth each way and if we deepen that these are also 

areas—these are democracies. 

These are open societies. Of course, there are some issues here 

and there but these are very stable, you know, energy partners 

compared to many other places around the world which we have 

talked about even here in the Western Hemisphere. 

But if we can tie ourselves we actually provide a very stable, but 

also resilience is very important for our energy sector. I live in New 

York City and back a couple years ago when Hurricane Sandy 

came in we understood for 2 weeks what it is like not to have 

power, what it is like to be without energy and the importance of 

resilience in our system whether it is electricity, whether it is gas 

supplies and the others is vital for economic production but just for 

our well-being. 

In fact, in that particular moment our ties with Canada both in 

terms of our electricity grids but our agreements with utility companies brought New York City and the area much more quickly, 

66

and I do believe, now that Mexico is changing, we can do the same 

thing along the southern border and to benefit all the states that 

are along that border and even those further in, providing a resiliency there so that if there are problems in the power grid, whether 

it is because of overloading or whether it is because of cyber security and other challenges that we will have as we go forward, infrastructure is vitally important to make sure these flows are safe 

back and forth. 

And the other thing, let me just mention quickly, is this side of 

we are a geographic region together and we have one of the biggest 

economic blocs, and so what we decide to do on energy and the mix 

we have in terms of clean and renewable and other types of traditional will affect the world. 

And so as we think about how we will change it over the next 

several years and decades, doing it with our neighbors is increasingly vital. So as we set energy guidelines, standards for cars, for 

safety and the like that, too, will be important to make sure that 

the economic benefits stay within the region so that we don’t have 

differing types of regulations between Canada, between the United 

States and Mexico. 

So when you are a company, a manufacturer or others you think 

about the region, the types of systems you had put in place or the 

types of energy choices you make you will be doing it within a region and particularly given, as I was speaking about, this underlying economic production platform that happens now that is occurring in North America, having energy incentives align across the 

three countries I think is very important as we grow on that economic side. 

Mr. EMMER. You know, if you could expand on that just a little 

bit, because the security issues in Mexico are a little bit different 

than the security issues we face in Canada, and you talk about infrastructure and I would agree completely. 

But how do you ensure or what can we do to ensure that it can 

be done first so that you attract private investment because they 

want to realize a return but that you can do it in a low risk safe 

manner, cost effective manner? 

Is there anything the U.S. should be considering in that regard 

as you move forward with, for instance, Mexico? 

Ms. O’NEIL. In the energy sector in particular in that narrow 

area there are things we can do and many, you know, international 

oil companies are used to dealing in areas that are quite risky. 

And so they have some means of doing it already, systems in 

place for some types of things. But overall, I think this gets to our 

larger relationship with Mexico and I believe right now Mexico is 

at really a fundamental place. 

It has done, I would want to acknowledge, an incredible set of 

economic reforms that can set that country up for growth and prosperity down the road. 

But it has yet to really grapple with the corruption in rule of law 

and we are seeing that over just the last few months some of the 

challenges. 

But in every crisis there is an opportunity and so if his government decides that for their legacy and for Mexico for the future to 

really take on corruption, to change the rules that are there, to try 

67

to dive in and create a new justice system, which is already happening but which has been slow to be implemented, if they do take 

this on and make it their priority I think we can come in whether 

through the Merida Initiative or other types of programs that we 

have and help them do that, and they will need to do things like 

retrain almost 40,000 lawyers and judges and official clerks in the 

new justice system and we have lawyers and other organizations 

that can do that. 

We can help bring in Colombians or others, as we were speaking 

about, who know how to professionalize police forces. There are 

things we can do to help this government when they decide to step 

in. 

Mr. EMMER. Thank you very much. I see my time has expired. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. Great line of questioning. When we 

were there on Codel Royce in November in Mexico a lot of the 

things you talk about, Dr. O’Neil, were discussed, and just for the 

record we were there when the 43 children were still missing before they found any remains and demonstrations in Mexico City of 

basically college-age kids and the paintings of the children and 

themselves that were missing it was quite moving. 

But one thing we did we met with civil society about the corruption and bribery that goes on within the judicial system of folks 

that are arrested so having someone there as a public advocate and 

what they are trying to do. 

I think the reforms if they—if they take hold I think it absolutely 

right that Mexico will benefit from that economically, and so I am 

excited about some of the things you talked about. 

Great line of questions, especially on the energy sector. Cross 

border energy, whether it is our natural gas and Mexico’s development of their natural gas but the electrical grid is already shared 

in certain border towns and so how do we work with our members. 

So thanks for that line of questioning, Tom, and I will now yield 

5 minutes to the gentleman from California, Mr. Lowenthal. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Well, thank you. First of all, my goals have 

been met. I really came just to learn and to listen. I have learned 

a lot about corruption. 

I have learned more about energy, trade, security issues, economic development, drugs. But I am going to ask a question or two. 

I want to switch to something that Mr. Farnsworth said about talking about how these—how nations are in our hemisphere are beginning to deal with some of the marginalized populations. 

Just recently, Senator Markey—I don’t think you know—Senator 

Markey and I introduced legislation that would direct the Department of State to further demonstrate its commitment to the LGBT 

human rights as a foreign policy priority of the United States by 

establishing a position within the State Department in the Bureau 

of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor just for to deal with LGBT 

issues. 

I wondered if you could talk to me a little bit about either Mr. 

Farnsworth or anybody else on the panel really the state of affairs 

with regard to the LGBT community in the Western Hemisphere. 

We know that there are some nations like Jamaica, Honduras 

where the plight—where I am very concerned and many of us are 

very concerned about the plight of the LGBT community. 

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Yet there are other countries like Uruguay and Costa Rica where 

there have been tremendous positive movement. And I am wondering how do we begin to deal with it in terms of U.S. interests 

as we begin to really begin to focus on human rights issues whether it is Cuba or anywhere in the states. Is this an issue that we 

can play some role in? 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Well, thank you very much for the question 

and welcome to the subcommittee. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you. 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. It is very nice to see you again, Mr. 

Lowenthal. You know, these are issues that fit squarely within the 

concept of social inclusion and, again, the idea that everybody has 

a unique and important role to play in the development of the 

country based on their unique characteristics and you cannot by 

law or legislation or informally exclude whole sectors of society. 

That just doesn’t work anymore. And so you ask what are some 

of the things the United States can do. Well, in the first instance, 

education I think is critically important. 

The idea that some behaviors simply are not acceptable, and I 

think this is something that the State Department has tried to do 

and is doing a little bit more of, can do more—other governments 

as well. 

But like anything these are some difficult issues. They are long 

ingrained within the Western Hemisphere. Each country is different. Each community within countries can be different at times 

and I think the real answer is just to keep pushing, keep raising 

consciousness, if we can use that term of art that was popular some 

time ago, but the idea that certain behaviors are just not acceptable in a region that values democracy, that values human rights 

and that values the individual uniqueness of every of its citizens. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Anybody else want to take a stab at that? 

Ms. GLICK. Quick stab at it. You mentioned Uruguay which was, 

I think, the first country in the world that legalized gay marriage. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Yes. 

Ms. GLICK. It is one of these things that this is the arc of history 

that you are seeing move right before our eyes quickly in the 

United States as well as in other countries in the world. As Mr. 

Farnsworth said, these are long ingrained traditions. 

There is a lot of impact that comes from various religious groups 

as well. I think that it is—the easiest way to look at this is the 

same way in which we look at issues related to the LGBT community in the Unites States. They are going to have an impact. 

There will be changes in some countries. There won’t be changes 

in others in the long or in the short term, and it will be an interesting thing to watch and see progress. 

But I think in terms of social inclusion and engaging with civil 

society this too is something that is going to come largely from the 

populations themselves, and is it really one of the things that the 

United States has to raise the flag about. 

I am not entirely sure that it is our responsibility or even our 

right to do so. We can call out human rights violations and hate 

crimes when we see them. I think that is very valuable. 

But I think in terms of these populations and communities in 

their own countries they can look to the United States for examples 

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and they can look to other countries in the region as well as examples. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you. I too want to keep raising the 

issues like marginalized populations on this committee. I want to 

maybe just quickly, if I have a minute, I have heard a lot about 

the development of the energy sector, the interdependence between 

and the relationship between the United States and our partners. 

I haven’t heard very much about except a little bit from Dr. 

O’Neil about renewable energy, climate change, a real—is there—

what kind of commitment? Would anybody really like to address 

that? Dr. Ellis. 

Mr. ELLIS. Thank you very much. There actually is considerable 

progress in renewable energy across the Americas. I actually can 

say this is one of the areas in which China, for better or worse, has 

been beneficial with respect to the combination of low cost loans 

and other things. 

When we look at countries such as Ecuador, but other countries 

such as Brazil, we find tremendous advances in the hydroelectric 

sector although that, of course, has side impacts on things such as 

local populations who live there and that has created problems as 

well. 

Significant impacts in solar—the number one Chinese investment, over $1 billion, programmed in Chile is not in copper but is 

actually in the north of the country in solar power. 

And so in many ways we do see that leadership, I think, in renewable in part through the United States but in part through 

other actors as well, and Japan and others have played constructive roles in that as well. 

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. The gentleman’s time has expired. I am going to 

allow just briefly if you would like to chime in—I know Mr. 

Farnsworth wanted to just real briefly. 

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Thanks, sir. Just one statistic—Latin America 

has the cleanest energy matrix of any region in the world based on 

hydro, based on some of the renewable in their energy matrix, and 

therefore, is an obvious partner for us in developing some of these 

issues. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Yes. Thank you. Only because I like you. No, I am 

just kidding. 

Well, that concludes—in the sense of time that concludes the 

hearing. I think the panelists have been absolutely fabulous, very 

insightful in providing information, today, I think that we have all 

benefitted from. I am going to ask that the record will remain open 

for 10 days for submission of remarks or extraneous materials that 

might be beneficial to the overall concept of the hearing. 

I look forward to having further conversations with all the panelists as we go forward. I plan on helping America focus on this 

hemisphere and rebuilding some ties and relationships which I 

think are very, very important. 

I look forward to working with the ranking member, and I appreciate his input and with that the committee will stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:41 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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A P P E N D I X 

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WRITTEN RESPONSES FROM MR. ERIC FARNSWORTH, VICE PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF THE

AMERICAS AND AMERICAS SOCIETY, TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY

THE HONORABLE JEFF DUNCAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE

OF SOUTH CAROLINA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE


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