Juan Carlos Zarate is an American attorney and security advisor who served as the deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism during the
George W. Bush administration. He is the chairman and co-founder of the Financial Integrity Network, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, and as senior adviser at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts policy ...
.
In his previous role, Zarate worked on the Bush administration's counterterrorism strategy.
Early life and education
The son of a Mexican father and Cuban mother, Zarate was born and raised in
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-m ...
and graduated from
Mater Dei High School. Zarate graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
and
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each c ...
. He studied as a Rotary International Fellow at the
Universidad de Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
.
Zarate wrote his thesis on the effects of U.S. foreign policy on democracy in Latin America. In law school, he focused on international law and security issues and wrote his third-year paper on the use of private military contractors in war.
Career
Prior to joining the NSC, Zarate served as the
Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing
The Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing is an office of the United States government within the United States Treasury Department.
Establishment and responsibilities
The office of Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing is statutorily ...
and Financial Crimes where he led Treasury's domestic and international efforts to disrupt terrorist financing, built comprehensive anti-money laundering systems, and expanded the use of Treasury powers to advance
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...
interests.
He led the U.S. government's global efforts to seize
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
's assets, resulting in the return of over $3 billion of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i assets from the U.S. and around the world.
Prior to working at the Department of the Treasury, Zarate served as a prosecutor in the
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
’s Terrorism and Violent Crime Section, where he worked on the investigation.
In June 2014, he accepted an appointment to the Board that oversees the Vatican's
Institute for the Works of Religion
The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...
("IOR"), a move announced by
Cardinal Pell of the Vatican Finance Ministry as part of
Pope Francis I's efforts to clean up the finances of the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. Zarate currently sits on the advisory board for nonprofit
America Abroad Media.
Publications
Zarate is the author of two books: ''Forging Democracy'', a book on the impact of U.S. foreign policy on democratization in Central America (), and ''Treasury's War: The Unleashing Of A New Era Of Financial Warfare'', about the use of financial power to counter terrorism ().
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarate, Juan
Living people
Harvard Law School alumni
American people of Basque descent
American politicians of Cuban descent
American politicians of Mexican descent
University of Salamanca alumni
People from Santa Ana, California
United States Department of Justice officials
George W. Bush administration personnel
Terrorism in the United States
Year of birth missing (living people)
CBS News people
Latino conservatism in the United States