Salazar, Maria Elvira

Maria Elvira Salazar represents Florida's 27th Congressional District and chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. As chair, she sets the subcommittee's agenda and controls which bills advance. The Western Hemisphere Subcommittee has jurisdiction over U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, addressing major issues including regional migration, sanctions, economic partnerships, and international security. This position gives her significant influence over the nation's diplomatic and strategic priorities in the region.

Salazar brings decades of expertise in hemispheric affairs to her role. She is a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who spent over 35 years working for major Spanish-language networks including Telemundo, Univision, and CNN en Español. Born in Miami's Little Havana to Cuban exiles, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Miami and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Her journalism career included covering conflict zones in Central America and conducting high-profile interviews with regional leaders, including Fidel Castro. This background gives her deep knowledge of Latin American politics and regional dynamics.

As chair, Salazar has actively advanced her legislative priorities. In her first term, she held 11 hearings on pressing issues facing the United States and Latin America. She led efforts to pass the Western Hemisphere and State Department Political Affairs Authorization Act, which was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. This legislation established clear authorities for the State Department's Political Affairs Bureaus in the Western Hemisphere and created an Office of Haitian Affairs. She has also presided over hearings on religious freedom, international narcotics enforcement, and U.S. policy toward authoritarian regimes in the region.

Salazar is known for her strong advocacy on human rights and democracy in the Western Hemisphere, particularly regarding Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. She also serves on the House Committee on Financial Services, where she participates in subcommittees on Capital Markets, Housing and Insurance, and National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. Her legislative work reflects her focus on combating socialist regimes, addressing migration, and countering foreign influence in the hemisphere.