Arturo Valenzuela Photo Courtesy of Organization of American States

Arturo Valenzuela's knowledge of the region and of the foreign policy bureaucracy is extraordinary. He will bring a cerebral, deliberative style to the process but also commands the respect of the career officers. Because of his South American roots, he is in a unique position to challenge governments to finish the hard work to make their economies more competitive in a tough global economy and also to make their governments more accountable to the needs of their people. In other words, he can work with countries as they work to solve their own problems rather than looking to Washington for solutions. It remains to be seen whether he can  capture President Obama's attention and additional US resources that are needed in the region. Early challenges include consolidating the gains that Colombia has made against the narcoterrorist threat, by pushing ratification of the trade partnership; seizing the opportunity to help Mexicans bring narcocriminality under control; and converting the US-Brazil friendship into an effective, purposeful partnership. I trust Arturo to rally a regional consensus behind President Obama's vision that Cuba must make tangible progress toward democracy and human rights before it is welcomed back to the OAS and to normal relations with the United States. Finally, I hope that Valenzuela will lead a serious reappraisal of the tangible threats posed by Hugo Chavez's relations with Iran and narcoterrorist groups.

Roger F. Noriega, a senior State Department official from 2001 to 2005, is a visiting fellow at AEI and managing director of Vision Americas LLC, which represents foreign and domestic clients.