James Richard Blankenship (born 1959)[1][2] is an American former politician that served as United States Ambassador to the Bahamas from 2001 to 2003; he was nominated by President George W. Bush in the spring of 2001.

[4] Before becoming ambassador to the Bahamas, Richard Blankenship was a partner in the Capital Policy Group, an investment banking firm with a home office in Jacksonville, Florida.

Blankenship could often be found in the producing countries of South America coordinating operations, in the jungles or on isolated islands with law enforcement authorities.

He was referred to as the "no nonsense diplomat" by The Nassau Tribune after exposing a ten-year cover-up of a Royal Bahamas Defence Force theft of cocaine used in an undercover operation.

Some Mexican Government officials believe the smuggling routes through Mexico were established because of the increased emphasis Blankenship brought to interdiction efforts in the Caribbean.