One of Biden's key advisors to step down
Photo: U.S. President Joe Biden (Getty Images)
The chief advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden for Latin America is resigning, and this move could complicate U.S. efforts towards democratic reforms in Venezuela in exchange for easing sanctions, informs Bloomberg
Juan Gonzalez, Biden's special advisor and senior director for the National Security Council on the Western Hemisphere, is set to resign in mid-March. He will be replaced by Daniel Erikson, the current Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere. Both Gonzalez and Erikson advised Biden when he was Vice President.
Gonzalez played a crucial role in attempts to persuade Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to hold free and fair elections. Following those elections, the U.S. lifted some economic sanctions, but these efforts faced a setback last month when the country's Supreme Court upheld a ban on opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado's participation in the elections.
What preceded
It was announced on February 14th that John Kirby, the chief spokesperson for U.S. President Joe Biden on national security matters, is being promoted. He will become an assistant to the president and a White House advisor on national security.
As part of the new structure, he will assemble a small team of collaborators to assist him in synchronizing the administration's messages on national security in addition to his daily work with the press.
It was also previously revealed that Elizabeth Rosenberg, an advisor to the head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, who dealt with sanctions and policies combating financial crimes, is resigning.
