Eric Jacobstein is a nonresident senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, where he provides expertise on Central America, the Caribbean, and regional migration.
Jacobstein is the founder and principal of Puentes Global Advisory, which he launched after nearly two decades of U.S. government service as a senior adviser on Latin America and the Caribbean at the highest levels across both the executive and legislative branches, with a strong record of bipartisan results.
Most recently, Jacobstein served in the Biden-Harris administration as deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he led U.S. policy on Central America, regional migration, and Cuba. He previously served at the White House as special adviser for the Western Hemisphere to Vice President Kamala Harris and as National Security Council director for Central America and Cuba. Jacobstein began his work in the Biden-Harris administration as a senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for International Development and as the founding staff director of its Northern Triangle Task Force.
Prior to his time in the executive branch, Jacobstein worked in the United States Congress for fifteen years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, including seven years as the lead Democratic adviser on Latin America and the Caribbean for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and three years as the staff director of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He is the author of key legislation signed into law by Democratic and Republican presidents, including the U.S.–Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act (which created the so-called “Engel list” of corrupt and undemocratic actors), the U.S.–Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act.
From 2002 to 2006, Jacobstein worked at the Inter-American Dialogue as manager of legislative affairs.
Jacobstein holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College.
