Americas Society/Council of the Americas

06/11/2026

🇸🇻On June 11, COA was pleased to welcome Ambassador of El Salvador to the U.S. Milena Mayorga, for a private meeting with our members in DC, as part of our Ambassador Breakfast Series.

Amb. Mayorga discussed El Salvador's economic transformation, including the country's focus on security, education, technology, infrastructure, and private-sector investment. She highlighted opportunities in construction, hospitality, logistics, artificial intelligence, digital services, and financial technology, while also addressing El Salvador's close economic ties with the United States and the role of the Salvadoran diaspora.

For this engaging dialogue, which was moderated by AS/COA Vice President Kevin Sullivan, COA was pleased to welcome members from across a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, agriculture, hospitality, logistics, and construction.

06/05/2026

Save yourself a seat on Saturday, June 20, for the inaugural U.S. FT Weekend Festival in NYC or join online to see and listen to the Financial Times Weekend paper live with everything from debates, interviews, tastings, and more.

Americas Society is proud of being a supporting partner of the event.

Learn more: https://usftweekendfestival.live.ft.com/

05/21/2026

Thank you to all our speakers and attendees who gathered just a block away from the White House for the 56th Washington Conference on the Americas on May 19!

As the premier event on U.S. foreign policy on the region, the conference brought together senior U.S. government officials, policymakers, and business leaders to discuss Washington’s relations with the Western Hemisphere. Experts and officials covered topics ranging from energy collaboration to USMCA negotiations to opportunities for bolstering prosperity in the Americas.

During the public portion of our program, we were pleased to honor Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau with the Chairman’s Award for Leadership in the Americas. Other high-level speakers included the Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council Jarrod Agen, U.S. Development Finance Corporation CEO Ben Black, Deputy U.S. Trade Trade Representative Jeffrey Goettman, and Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar. In addition, we welcomed special guest María Corina Machado.

We are deeply grateful to all of our esteemed panelists and participants, including Laura Alfaro Maykall of the Inter-American Development Bank, Rodrigo Valdes of the International Monetary Fund, Jeff Goettman of Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Ildefonso Guajardo, Kate Kalutkiewicz, Steve Verheul, as well as AS/COA’s Kevin Sullivan, Brian Winter, Susan Segal, Andrés Gluski, and Carin Zissis.

We would also like to say thank you to the wonderful hosts of our opening embassy dinners: Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti and Honduran Ambassador Roberto Flores Bermúdez.

Finally, in conjunction with the conference, we were honored to hold a series of small, off-the-record members programs with esteemed guests: Ambassador Michael Kozak, Special Assistant to the President for the National Security Council David Copley, Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Fogel, and Assistant Secretary of State Caleb Orr.

05/18/2026

🇵🇪 It’s confirmed. Leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez will be Keiko Fujimori’s opponent in her fourth consecutive presidential runoff election.

Learn more about the two candidates and their plans to address voter concerns about crime and corruption while keeping the economy running:

On her fourth try, conservative Keiko Fujimori faces off against leftist Roberto Sánchez after a first-round vote marred by mishaps.

05/15/2026

COA is honored to announce speakers at its 56th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas on May 19.

See the agenda for the public portion of the premier DC event on hemispheric affairs.

This conference is members-only and registration is closed. Press registration is open.

Link in bio.

05/14/2026

We were thrilled to host pollster , founder of Quaest, to discuss the panorama for Brazil's presidential elections with our corporate members in New York on May 14. In a conversation moderated by AS/COA's , Nunes spoke about the impact of corruption probes on the elections, Brazilians' feelings towards the political system, and why prospects for leading candidates can still change.

05/13/2026

COA holds its 56th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas on May 19.

We are pleased to announce that, during the program, we will recognize Deputy Secretary of State with the Chairman’s Award for Leadership in the Americas for his contributions to advancing democracy, economic opportunity, and cooperation throughout the Western Hemisphere.

This conference is invite-only but open to press and COA members. Link in bio.

05/11/2026

🇵🇪 A month after Peru's first-round vote, Keiko Fujimori is still waiting for confirmation of if she'll face leftist Roberto Sánchez or conservative Rafael López Aliaga in the June 7 runoff.

See what the polls are saying about the potential second-round scenarios:

A historic number of candidates will compete in the April 12 first-round vote to lead the Andean country jaded by a decade of high presidential turnover.

04/29/2026

What a pleasure to host journalist Richard Lapper in DC on April 28 to hear about his new book "Lula! The Man, The Myth and a Dream of Latin America" during Brazil's critical election year.

Lapper sat down with moderator .zissis to discuss Lula's legacy, the country's transformation, and the dynamics behind what's shaping up to be a close 2026 presidential race.

Couldn't join us in DC? Lapper will be in NYC on May 5 for a conversation with .

Register at the link in bio.

04/17/2026

On the sidelines of the IMF-WB Spring Meetings, COA hosted a series of private meetings with Latin American finance ministers and central bank heads at our Washington Office, with representatives from Honduras, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala, and Panama.

Among our guests were Julio Velarde, President of the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP); Roberto Lagos of Banco Central de Honduras; Julieta Suazo Franco, Commissioner of the Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS) of Honduras; Daniel Leal, National Treasury Secretary of Brazil; Jonathan Menkos Zeissig, Guatemalan Minister of Public Finance; and Felipe Chapman, Panamanian Minister of Economy and Finance.