Juan González, Biden’s main advisor for Latin America, will leave his position

Juan González, the main advisor to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, for Latin America, will leave office in mid-March, a White House spokeswoman informed EFE this Tuesday.

González, of Colombian origin, has been the main architect of US policy towards Venezuela, trusting that a lifting of sanctions could lead the Government of Nicolás Maduro to hold free and fair elections this year.

The advisor traveled to Caracas in March 2022 along with other US advisors to meet with Maduro, in what was the first official trip by members of the White House to Venezuela in two decades.

González also played a key role in US negotiations with Mexico to establish the Bicentennial Understanding, the new strategy that establishes the foundations to improve security in both countries, reduce arms trafficking to Mexico and combat drug trafficking.

Likewise, González was behind the creation of the Alliance for Economic Prosperity in the Americas (APEP), an initiative that Biden launched during the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in 2022 and which aims to combat economic inequality and promote democracy. Regional integration.

This initiative also seeks to strengthen supply chains in the region and has private investment in association with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Born in Cartagena (Colombia), González has an especially close relationship with Biden: he has served as director for Latin America of the White House National Security Council since the president came to power in January 2021 and was one of his main advisors in foreign policy during the campaign for the 2020 elections.

In addition, González was one of Biden’s main advisors for Latin America during Barack Obama’s second term as vice president (2009-2017).

González will be replaced by Daniel Erikson, who currently holds the position of ‘number two’ of the Latin American portfolio in the US Department of Defense, indicated the aforementioned White House spokesperson.

Erikson was an advisor to Biden when he was vice president and also assisted him during the transition period, after having won the 2020 elections against former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).