Mark Wells began his assignment as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in September 2021. A minister-counselor in the Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Wells currently covers South America and regional economic issues. Previously, Mr. Wells served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Bogota, Colombia, (2019-2021) and Lima, Peru (2017-2019). His other overseas assignments include political counselor in Colombia, deputy political counselor in Venezuela, economic-commercial officer in Bolivia, and vice consul in Monterrey, Mexico. Additionally, he served for six months in 2005 at the Regional Embassy Office in Mosul, Iraq. His domestic assignments include Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, Office Director for Western Hemisphere Programs in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and senior desk officer for Colombia and Venezuela. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Wells worked in the Western Hemisphere Bureau’s Office of Summit Coordination as a coordinator for the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994 and second Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, in 1998.
Mr. Wells has an M.S. in national security strategy from the National War College (2014), an M.A. in international economics from the George Washington University, and a B.A. in government from Oral Roberts University in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He speaks fluent Spanish and some Portuguese.