35 West

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Logan Coleman, a Program Manager at the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). They discuss the challenges faced by Venezuelan youth and women in the Caribbean, an often-overlooked host destination for migrants. Logan explains the value of using a gender lens to understand the migrant crisis and explains why Venezuelans are vulnerable to trafficking in pe...

In this special Spanish-language episode, Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Piero Corvetto, the Head of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). Piero introduces the vital role of the ONPE in Peruvian elections and explains the measures being undertaken to ensure citizens can vote safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the importance of Peru's 2021 elections and the cha...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Moises Rendon, CSIS Senior Associate and the former director of the Future of Venezuela Initiative. Moises introduces the world of cryptocurrencies and outlines key differences between decentralized and public currencies, such as Bitcoin, and state-sponsored cryptocurrencies, like the Venezuelan Petro. They discuss why cryptocurrencies have become so popular i...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Gerardo Berthin, Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Programs at Freedom House. Gerardo introduces Freedom House's new tracker, "Election Watch for the Digital Age" and explains the methodology Freedom House uses to determine how digital technologies are disrupting electoral processes around the world. They discuss the specific vulnerabilities that may...

Moises Rendon sits down with Ambassador Francisco Santos Calderón, Colombian Ambassador to the United States and former Vice President of Colombia from 2002 to 2010. They discuss the humanitarian impact of the Venezuelan migrant crisis playing out in neighboring Colombia and the security repercussions of growing criminal presence along the border. Ambassador Santos outlines the recent shifts in th...

Moises Rendon sits down with CSIS Senior Advisor Ambassador William Brownfield, former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Chile, and Colombia. They discuss developments in these three countries considering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chile's constitutional referendum, and the Biden-Ha...

Forced Labor & Environmental Degradation in the Mining Industry   In this special Spanish-language episode, Margarita sits down with Pilar Velasquez of the office of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in the bureau of international labor affairs at the United States Department of Labor (USDOL). They discuss informal and illegal gold mining and its connection to environmental degradat...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, director of the department of social inclusion at the Organization of American States (OAS). They discuss food insecurity, poverty, gender disparities, and other barriers to social inclusion in the region. Betilde outlines how the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, including women, indigenous peop...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Luis Felipe Duchicela, Senior Advisor for Indigenous Peoples' Issues for the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance at USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. They discuss how Luis Felipe's background brought him to this leadership position, and USAID's new Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peopl...

Moises Rendon sits down with Elisabeth Pramendorfer, Senior Human Rights Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. They discuss how the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) applies to the case of Venezuela, particularly considering the report of the United Nations Human Rights Council Independent fact-finding mission. Elisabeth outlines common misconceptions about the use and scop...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Ambassador John C. Richmond, the United States Ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat trafficking in persons. They discuss trafficking in persons in the Andean region, and particularly in the context of the informal mining sector. Ambassador Richmond outlines the progress that has been made in the past 20 years to identify, monitor, and combat trafficking i...

This is a special Spanish-language episode of 35 West hosted by Dan Runde, Senior Vice President and the Director of the CSIS Americas Program. Dan sits down with María Eugenia Vidal, the former Governor of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. They discuss how she got her start in politics, as well as key policy issues she prioritized during her time as governor, including crime reduction and p...

Margarita R. Seminario sits down with Felipe Buitrago Restrepo, Viceminister for Creativity and the Orange Economy in the Colombian Ministry of Culture. Viceminister Buitrago shares his experience in designing policies to promote the orange economy in Colombia. They discuss the untapped potential of the creative economy in Latin America, as well as how creative industries have been transformed by...

Moises Rendon sits down with John Barsa, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They discuss how Venezuela fits into Administrator Barsa's global vision for USAID, the challenges the agency has faced in providing critical humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people, and the United States' perspective on Venezuela's upcoming parliamentary elections. 

Maria Moreno, Head of Private Sector Engagement and Head of Operations at USA for IOM, sits down with Moises Rendon to talk about the private sector's response to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. They discuss the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform established by IOM and UNHCR, as well as the important role of the Venezuelan diaspora in addressing the immediate and long-term needs of...

In the final episode of the series, Moises talks to CSIS Senior Advisers Juan Cruz and Mark Feierstein about the United States' strategy toward Venezuela. They discuss the successes and shortcomings of the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign and consider how this policy may evolve after U.S. presidential elections in November. 

In this episode, Moises discusses political persecution and human rights violations with Tamara Taraciuk Broner of Human Rights Watch. They hear from two Venezuelans—Rafaela Requesens and Jose Arocha—who were persecuted by the Maduro regime, and discuss what the international community needs to do to protect Venezuelan political prisoners and restore human rights in the country. Tamara is the acti...

Moises speaks with Ambassador William Brownfield about the violence, crime, and insecurity that have plagued Venezuela in recent years. They hear from Venezuelans who have experienced crime and insecurity firsthand, and discuss how colectivos, drug traffickers, and armed groups play a key role within the Maduro regime. Ambassador Brownfield is currently a senior adviser to the Americas Program at...

In this episode, Moises talks to Alexandra Winkler, senior associate of CSIS's Americas Program, about the daily struggles faced by Venezuelan women amid the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis. They also discuss why it is critical for Venezuelan women to play a role in the political process. Alexandra is former deputy mayor of El Hatillo, one of the five municipalities of the capital city of...

In this episode, Moises talks to Ben Cahill, senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change program at CSIS. They hear from Venezuelans who have experienced frequent blackouts that widely disrupt their day-to-day lives, as well as discuss what it will take to rebuild the country's electricity infrastructure. Voices of Venezuela is a ten-episode miniseries produced by The Future of Venezue...

In this episode, Moises speaks with Mark Schneider (CSIS) about Venezuela's crumbling water system, which is having tremendous health impacts on the population. They hear from Venezuelans who have experienced water shortages and discuss what would be needed to restore the water system in a Day After scenario. Mr. Schneider is a senior adviser with the Americas Program and the Human Rights Initiati...

In this episode, Moises is joined by Gerver Torres to discuss key aspects of Venezuela's economic crisis, including hyperinflation, dollarization, and the Maduro regime's recent push for privatization. They listen to first-hand accounts from Venezuelans on the ground and discuss what the international community can do to rebuild Venezuela's economy in a Day After scenario. Mr. Torres is a senior a...

In this episode, Moises speaks with Katherine Bliss, senior fellow with the Global Health Policy Center at CSIS, to discuss Venezuela's decaying health system, which is now facing the added factor of Covid-19. They listen to testimonies from Venezuelan migrants and discuss what can be done to rebuild the country's failing health system and address malnutrition.  Voices of Venezuela is a ten-episod...

By the end of 2020, an estimated 6 million Venezuelans will have been forced to flee, making it the largest migrant crisis in the world.  In the second episode of Voices of Venezuela, Moises speaks with Erol Yayboke, Deputy Director of CSIS’s Project on Prosperity and Development, to dissect the push factors for Venezuelan migration, testimonies from Venezuelans on the journey outside Venezuela, a...

In this first episode of the Voices of Venezuela miniseries, we will discuss the political, economic, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. We will introduce a few voices of Venezuelan citizens who are affected by the crisis on a day-to-day basis, and share with listeners what to expect in the coming weeks from this podcast. Voices of Venezuela is a ten-episode miniseries produced by The Future of...