35 West

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 Venezuela Initiative (FVI) in partnership with the Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS. Voices of Venezuela is a unique narrative-based podcast that weaves together stories recorded on the ground with commentary from CSIS experts, who will offer their insights from a broader policy perspective.

Illegal mining of the vast mineral resources in Venezuela, specifically gold, has devastated the southern part of the country. In this episode of 35 West, CSIS Future of Venezuela Initiative Director Moises Rendon speaks to Cristina Burelli, Advisor & International Liaison at SOS Orinoco, about the impact of illegal mining on the environment, human rights, and security in the region.

Youth violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is a big problem, but how well do we understand it? Richard Miles talks to Dr. Patricia Campie, an expert who was commissioned by USAID to find out which violence prevention interventions in the region worked, and which didn’t. She found that parenting and after school programs worked well, but other interventions had very mixed results. You can read about many other findings in the full report, What Works to Prevent Lethal Youth Violence in the LAC Region: A Global Review of the Research.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, former Ambassador of Mexico to the U.S., sits down with CSIS Senior Associate Richard Miles to talk about the fundamentals of the U.S.-Mexico relationship. Have the two countries grown closer or further apart over the last two generations? What has been the effect of increased trade, investment, security cooperation, cultural ties, and migration? Does it matter who sits in the White House and Los Pinos? Listen to the thoughts of one of Mexico’s top experts on the U.S. and his predictions for the next few years.  

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales resigned following the OAS Electoral Observation Mission denouncement of the October presidential elections as fraudulent, and massive street-wide protests. As a result and according to the Bolivian Constitution, an interim government led by Senator Jeanine Áñez took over with the objective to host free and fair elections in the spring of 2020. Electoral and political challenges remain as the country has only a few months to prepare for these elections. During this episode, CSIS experts Margarita Seminario and Moises Rendon discuss the road ahead for Bolivia with former Bolivian President Jorge ‘Tuto’ Quiroga and Bolivian Ambassador to the OAS Jaime Aparicio.

According to the UN, the number of Venezuelan refugees in Colombia will reach 6.5 million in 2020. While Colombia has shown patience in trying to mitigate the issues of its global neighbor, it is also facing an important and delicate time internally. CSIS's Moises Rendon invites former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Kevin Whitaker to discuss Colombia's priorities for peace integration efforts, its relationship with the U.S., as well as how the Venezuelan crisis is directly impacting Colombia's security and improvement.