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From politics and security to the economy and U.S. relations, FIU scholars are breaking down what today’s news from Venezuela means for the region and for the United States. Experts are available for interviews in English and Spanish found on this page.
For help contacting any of our experts, please contact the Office of Media Relations:
José Miguel Cruz
Interim Director
Kimberly Green Latin American & Caribbean Center
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Cruz is an expert in the areas of criminal violence, gangs, police, and public opinion in Central America. He has published over one hundred scholarly articles and four books on several topics, including criminal violence, policing, street gangs, and criminal governance in Latin America. He is considered one of the pioneers in the study of criminal violence in Central America and Latin America, and the first to study Central American transnational gangs comparatively.
Office: 305-348-5952
Email: jomcruz@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Carlos Díaz-Rosillo
Research Professor, Founding Director
Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom
Carlos Díaz-Rosillo is a recognized expert in U.S. foreign policy and Latin American affairs, with deep insight into the political and security dynamics shaping Venezuela and the broader Western Hemisphere. As founding director of the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, Díaz-Rosillo guides programs, research, and public discourse on U.S.-Latin America relations, democratic governance, and regional policy responses to political and economic crises. He previously served at senior levels of the U.S. government, including as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Interagency Coordination at the White House and as Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. His work bridges academic analysis and high-level policymaking, offering nuanced perspectives on Venezuela’s challenges, U.S. policy options, and pathways to internal political change.
Email: freedom@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Megan Rocher
786-879-9796
megnunez@fiu.edu
Brian Fonseca
Director
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Brian Fonseca specializes in Venezuela’s military and security apparatus, examining its role in regime stability, internal repression, and regional power dynamics. He analyzes Venezuela’s political and security challenges through the lens of U.S. foreign policy, regional governance, and international influence. His technical expertise and publications center on U.S. and Latin American governance, national security, and foreign policy, with particular emphasis on Venezuela’s security forces and their relationships with China and Russia.
Email: fonsecab@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Irene D. Ferradez
305-348-5364
iferrada@fiu.edu
Eduardo Gamarra
Professor
Politics & International Relations
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Gamarra’s research, teaching, and consulting focus has been on the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. He has conducted research and served as a consultant in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. The focus of his work includes security, democratization, drug trafficking and related illicit industries, political parties, campaigns/elections, public opinion, among other topics.
Office: 305-348-1718
Email: gamarrae@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Edward Glab
Lead for Global Energy Security Forum, Professor
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Edward Glab is the co-director of the Global Energy Security Forum at FIU’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy. He joined FIU in 2004 after retiring from ExxonMobil, where for over 25 years he held a variety of positions in public affairs.
Office: 305-919-5972
Email: alsimpso@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Jerry Haar
Clinical Professor
International Business
Jerry Haar is a researcher and consultant specializing in economic and political risk analysis, strategic planning, and international management. He has advised multinational firms including ExxonMobil, IBM, Microsoft, KPMG, and Heineken, and has held senior policy and management roles with the federal government, including service as Special Assistant to two cabinet secretaries. Haar closely follows political and economic developments in Latin America, with particular expertise in Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.
Office: 305-348-2157
Email: haarj@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Michelle Lopez
305-348-7422
mplopez@fiu.edu
Frank Mora
Senior Research Scientist, Professor
Department of Politics & International Relations
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Frank Mora is a former U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. From 2013 to 2020, Mora served as director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU. Prior to arriving at FIU, he served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Western Hemisphere from 2009–2013. Mora is the author or editor of five books and over thirty academic and policy articles, book chapters, and monographs on hemispheric security, U.S.-Latin American relations, civil-military relations, Cuban politics and the military, and Latin American political economy and integration.
Office: 305-348-2899
Email: moraf@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Edgardo Pappacena
Adjunct Professor
International Business
Edgardo Pappacena brings direct expertise on Venezuela, having advised Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) in the early 1990s during its pre-Chávez modernization efforts, giving him firsthand insight into the company’s long-term decline and the country’s evolving economic and investment risks. Pappacena is a global business and geopolitical strategist with more than 40 years of executive experience advising multinational companies across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He served as Chief Global Strategist at PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC, leading worldwide strategy, geopolitical risk management, and large-scale business model transformation across more than 150 countries.
Office: 305-348-2791
Email: epappace@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Michelle Lopez
305-348-7422
mplopez@fiu.edu
Tobias Pfutze
Associate Professor, Graduate Director
Department of Economics
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Tobias Pfutze is an applied microeconomist specializing in development economics, with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. His research examines international migration, social protection programs, and land rights, and has been published in leading journals in the field. Outside academia, he has worked as a senior economist and consultant at the World Bank, as well as in research and policy roles at the United Nations Development Programme and NORC at the University of Chicago.
Office: 305-348-2381
Email: tpfutze@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Ofelia Riquezes Curiel
Associate Director
Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Democracy
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Originally from Venezuela, Ofelia Riquezes Curiel is a lawyer with a master's degree in human rights, rule of law and democracy in Latin America (Universidad de Alcalá, Spain) and holds a Ph.D in political science from Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela. Her research focuses on transitional justice processes in Latin America and international human rights law.
Office: 305-348-7266
Email: oriqueze@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Daniel Zayas
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Andres Tremante
CDSSEC and ENGINE Senior Director
Engineering and Computing
Andrés Tremante is a Venezuelan native and senior engineering leader at Florida International University with deep expertise in oil and gas, energy systems, and industry - academia innovation. He began his career as a research scientist in the oil and gas sector before transitioning into academia, bringing firsthand knowledge of Venezuela’s energy foundations and their broader economic and political implications. Tremante currently serves as senior director of FIU’s Center for Development, Support, and Success in Engineering and Computing (CDSSEC) and the Engineering Industry–Innovation Ecosystem (ENGINE), where he works closely with global energy, manufacturing, and technology firms. A teaching professor of mechanical and materials engineering, he has published more than 30 peer-reviewed studies in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and aerodynamics, and holds a U.S. patent related to energy and power systems. He can comment on Venezuela’s oil sector, energy infrastructure, technical workforce challenges, and the long-term impacts of political decisions under the Maduro government.
Office: 305-348-0149
Email: tremante@fiu.edu
For help, contact:
Elizabeth Calzadilla
305-348-7511
ecalzadi@fiu.edu
Contact us
For help contacting any of our experts, please contact the Office of Media Relations:
Media Relations
Madeline Baró
Senior Director of Media Relations
305-310-9665
mbaro@fiu.edu
Dianne Fernandez
Senior Director of Broadcast
305-608-4870
dfernand37@fiu.edu
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Daniel Zayas
Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing
305-348-5360
dzayas@fiu.edu
Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom
Megan Rocher
Communications Marketing and Event Manager
786-879-9796
megnunez@fiu.edu
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Irene D. Ferradaz
Director, Marketing and Communications
305-348-5364
iferrada@fiu.edu
College of Business
Michelle Lopez
Assistant Director, Media Relations and Communications
305-348-7422
mplopez@fiu.edu
College of Engineering & Computing
Elizabeth Calzadilla
Director of Marketing and Communications
786-338-3346
ecalzadi@fiu.edu