27th Annual CAF Conference

The 27th Annual CAF Conference in Washington, DC this year brought together more than 1,000 world leaders to debate and discuss the most pressing developments facing the Americas. The conference was established in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue, CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Blue Star Strategies attended this year’s gathering, which focused on the critical intersection of development and security, offering in-depth discussions on regional stability, transnational organized crime, subnational approaches to creating safe communities, combatting gender-based violence, and implications for U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. The conference proposed new solutions to combat citizen insecurity, shaping debate and policy across the region.

The conference’s keynote speaker was President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, who addressed the audience on the duty of those in power to strengthen democracy and how it will translate into positive results across different sectors. President Abinader was reelected in May 2024 for a second term in a landslide victory, after securing legislation that will only allow presidents to be reelected once and consecutively. Today, the Dominican Republic is Latin America’s fastest growing country, and a positive example of what countries can accomplish with good leadership.

While the conversations shed light on some of the region’s most urgent issues, seeing so many leaders come together in an attempt to work on solutions was reassuring.  The conference served as a reminder to Washington that brushing the region aside will have a significant cost for the United States in the long run.