Education
- Yale Law School (J.D., 1976)
- Editor, Yale Law Journal
- Yale University (B.A., 1973)
- summa cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa


Carlos Méndez-Peñate structures cross-border M&A, capital markets, project finance and private investment fund formation transactions across Latin America and the Caribbean, giving financial institutions and multinationals a path into markets where relationships and regional fluency are the difference between a closed deal and a stalled one.
Carlos has spent four decades building one of the most distinctive Latin America and Caribbean practices in U.S. law — representing the full spectrum of the region's financial institutions, corporations, and governments in transactions that cross borders, currencies, and regulatory regimes. His clients range from Jamaican asset managers and Trinidad-based commercial banks to U.S. and European multinationals seeking footholds in markets where local knowledge is not optional.
Carlos advises on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets offerings, syndicated and secured lending, private investment fund formation, project finance, debt restructuring, and real estate transactions. On any given matter, he may be structuring a Rule 144A high-yield note offering for a Mexican energy services company, guiding a Caribbean bank through a U.S. market entry, or steering a privatization bid for a national telephone company. That breadth — across deal types, countries, and client profiles — is what makes him a go-to counsel for complex transactions.
Carlos is particularly active on transactions involving Cuba, where he helps U.S. companies pursue market opportunities while navigating the compliance requirements imposed by U.S. regulations. His in-country knowledge of the region extends to Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, among others.
Financial institutions represent a core client base: Carlos has represented commercial banks, investment banks, private equity firms, asset managers, and insurance companies on both sides of the Atlantic in their Latin American and Caribbean strategies. He has structured cross-border acquisitions, negotiated joint ventures, arranged Export-Import Bank financings, and advised on the privatization of airports and telecommunications companies. He also regularly represents issuers and underwriters in U.S. securities offerings — including American Depositary Receipt listings on the New York Stock Exchange — for companies based throughout the region.
Carlos is frequently sought by media outlets for commentary on the legal dimensions of doing business in Latin America and the Caribbean, and has appeared on Bloomberg TV and CNN and been quoted in *The American Lawyer* and *Forbes*.
Select Experience
Mergers & Acquisitions