His confirmation had been blocked by Senator Jim DeMint (R, SC) due to a dispute over President Barack Obama's approach to the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.

[2] He previously served as Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

[3] He was previously Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council on Latin American Studies at Duke University.

[1] He spent his childhood in Concepción where he attended primary school at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, where he learned to speak French.

[3] On May 12, 2009, Valenzuela was nominated by President Barack Obama as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.