Ambassador Roger Noriega, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hempisphere Affairs under President George W. Bush, spoke on Thursday, January 15, 2015 to the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. Noriega frequently writes for the American Enterprise Institute.
"I'm very gung ho on Latin America, but you would never know it from this presentation," Noriega joked before beginning his speech, "Growing Together: Seizing Opportunities and Confronting Challenges in the Americas."
Noriega's speech touched on Mexico; he said the consumption of illegal drugs by America fuels criminal syndicates there. The Mexican drug war, he said, is really "our" drug war, but "Mexico is fighting it." Noriega noted the corruption that plagues Latin American countries, and offered his solutions for a way to build bridges and make connections. "[These countries] don't need paternalism. They don't need lectures. They need partners."
Hear Noriega's entire speech in the audio link above. Apologia: technical difficulties resulted in less than optimum audio quality during the opening 8 minutes of this speech.