Juan Cruz

Juan Cruz

Juan Cruz is a Senior Advisor of Dinámica Americas.

Juan retired as a senior U.S. government executive who served in Latin America in various roles, culminating a nearly 35-year government career as President Trump’s Special Assistant for the Western Hemisphere and top National Security Council advisor for the Americas. He served in multiple diplomatic posts, including the U.S. embassies in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. His portfolio covered the national security spectrum and included transnational threats, intelligence, stability, and risk. Since leaving government, Juan has served actively as Senior Advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Americas Program and as a Latin America expert for the Vandenberg Coalition. He also advises business intelligence firms and their clients, multilateral institutions, technology firms, foreign governments, and others engaged in the Americas. Juan is a native Spanish speaker and advanced Portuguese speaker.


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Juan Cruz at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas

The Americas Society/Council of the Americas hosted Senior Advisor Juan Cruz about what the new U.S. National Security Strategy means for the Americas

Senior Advisor Juan Cruz was hosted by The Americas Society/Council of the Americas in New York to discuss the updated U.S. National Security Strategy and its implications for the Americas.

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Juan Cruz on a conference panel in Colombia

Colombia’s La Republica interviewed Senior Advisor Juan Cruz about U.S.-Colombia relations in the Trump era.

Según Juan Cruz, experto en seguridad nacional, la ofensiva agrícola de Trump ya mueve a Brasil, Ecuador y Guatemala para ocupar espacios que antes tenía Colombia

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CSIS Last Line of Defense Podcast

CSIS Last Line of Defense Podcast interviewed Senior Advisor Juan Cruz about the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy.

Host Seth Jones sits down with Juan Cruz, who served in the U.S. Intelligence Community and on the National Security Council as special assistant to the president and senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, to discuss the U.S. military’s role in the Venezuela crisis and provide an inside look at Maduro’s armed forces.

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Juan Cruz live on air at Blu Radio in Colombia

Colombia’s Radio Blu interviewed Senior Advisor Juan Cruz on U.S. policy in Venezuela

Donald Trump sorprendió al mundo diciendo que "podría hablar" con Nicolás Maduro para "salvar vidas". ¿Es un giro en la política exterior de EE. UU. o solo una estrategia? Juan Cruz.

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Panel discussion at CSIS on U.S. Navy deployment to the Caribbean

CSIS hosted Senior Advisor Juan Cruz to discuss the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean

The Trump administration has overseen one of the largest U.S. Navy buildups in the Caribbean in recent memory. The administration says that this activity is meant to counter the security threats in the region, especially drug trafficking from recently designated foreign terrorist organizations. Some of these activities blur traditional law enforcement and counterterrorism operations, shifting U.S. policy towards a new paradigm.

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Juan Cruz speaking animatedly on a conference panel

Juan Cruz, ex asesor principal de Trump, revela la estrategia detrás de la batalla de aranceles contra China

Juan Cruz da una entrevista sobre las diferencias entre Trump 1.0 y 2.0, así como el pensamiento y enfoque actual de la Casa Blanca con respecto a China, los aranceles, el comercio y la política migratoria en las Américas.

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A red 'TARIFFS' block covering Benjamin Franklin's mouth on a $100 bill

Trump threatens country after country with US economic weapons

Juan Cruz and Ricardo Zuniga assess the trajectory of U.S. economic policy under the Trump administration, especially U.S. tariff policy