Professional Affiliation

Founding Partner, Dinámica Americas

Expert Bio

Ricardo Zúniga is a founding partner of Dinámica Americas, an international advisory group. He was a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, serving for 30 years in multiple roles, including as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. special envoy for the Northern Triangle, and U.S. consul general in São Paulo, Brazil. Zúniga was detailed from the State Department to serve as President Obama’s principal adviser for the Americas from 2012 to 2015, during which time he worked closely with then-Vice President Joe Biden and advised cabinet members and other senior leaders on the Americas. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Latin America Program and the Advisory Council of the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and served diplomatic tours in Mexico, Portugal, Cuba, Spain, and twice in Brazil. He was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and has a Bachelor's in international affairs from the University of Virginia.

Wilson Center Project

“Assessment of U.S. Development Assistance to Central America 2014-2018.”

Project Summary

This study will examine the results of U.S. assistance programs in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to assess the factors that contributed to the success, failure, or uncertain outcome of individual projects, and to determine whether those results hold lessons that could help direct future assistance to the Northern Triangle.