Ambassador (Ret.) Roger F. Noriega has more than three decades of public policy experience focusing on U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.  After a 10-year career on Capitol Hill, he was appointed by President George W. Bush (and confirmed by the U.S. Senate) to senior State Department posts.  Ambassador Noriega’s breadth and depth of experience and contacts offer strategic vision and practical insight for clients with interests in the Americas.  He is the founder and managing director of the consultant firm, Vision Americas LLC, which has teams in Washington and Bogotá.

 

As U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (July 2003 to October 2005), Noriega managed a 3,000-person team in Washington and 50 diplomatic posts to design and implement political and economic strategies in Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  He also helped design and execute an annual plan for the effective use of $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance in two-dozen countries.

 

As U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (August 2001 to July 2003), Noriega coordinated complex and sensitive multilateral diplomacy in a 34-member international organization to bolster trade, fight illicit drugs, and defend democracy.

 

Noriega served as a visiting fellow at the prestigious American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research from 2005-2020, offering public commentary and authoring purposeful reports on the greatest challenges and opportunities facing the Americas.  Noriega is a frequent commentator in U.S. and international publications and broadcasts.   

 

On Capitol Hill, Noriega counseled Congressional leaders on all aspects of U.S. interests in the Americas and helped draft historic legislation—including blueprints to hasten democracy in Cuba (the LIBERTAD Act), rescue Colombia (Plan Colombia), and advance anti-drug efforts (Kingpin Designation Act and “certification” of international cooperation).  From 1997 to 2001, he was a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff of Chairman Jesse A. Helms (R-NC), and from 1994 to 1997, he served on the House International Relations Committee staff of Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-NY). 

 

Noriega is a native of Wichita, Kansas, and the great grandson of Mexican immigrants.  He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washburn University of Topeka.  Noriega has been decorated by the republics of Nicaragua and Peru and recognized by numerous organizations promoting democracy in the Americas.