Over the past decade, Russian-based companies have been providing sophisticated surveillance technology to several Latin American countries. These technologies are critical to the survival of the repressive regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and possibly criminal nonstate actors that weaken democracy and threaten U.S. national security. The transfer of surveillance technologies and other cyber activities, often run by Russian intelligence officials directly tied to Russia’s state cyber structures, goes beyond traditionally understood gray zone activities. In this episode of the JGI Policy Pulse, host Leland Lazarus speaks with Doug Farah from the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies to uncover how Russia-backed surveillance technology is fueling authoritarian regimes in the region.

Douglas Farah is a senior adviser to the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) and founder and president of IBI Consultants, LLC (www.ibiconsultants.net), a consulting firm that specializes in field research studying security challenges and transnational organized crime in Latin America. Its clients include the U.S. government (DOD, State Department), leading think tanks (CSIS, Atlantic Council), and the private sector.

As China continues to increase its influence in the Americas, one area that deserves particular attention is science and technology. While it is sometimes considered outside the scope of traditional diplomacy, science and technology are increasingly important for economic development and encompass a large range of sectors that are critical to the region's growth. These include defense, the green energy transition, and healthcare. Join Leland Lazarus as he sits down with Adam Ratzlaff about China's New Silk Road of Science in the Americas.

Adam Ratzlaff is a PhD candidate in International Relations at Florida International University and the Deputy Director of Global Americans, a DC-based think tank on Hemispheric affairs. Prior to coming to FIU, Ratzlaff conducted political and economic analysis for organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Southern Pulse Correspondents.

His research interests include U.S.-Latin American foreign policy, Sino-Latin American foreign policy, Pan-American cooperation, the defense of democracy in the Americas, fiscal policy, and economic and social development in Latin America. He has published extensively on these topics in popular venues including Diplomatic Courier, The National Interest, and Charged Affairs among others. Ratzlaff’s dissertation examines how the Organization of American States (OAS) responds to and shapes the evolving threats to democracy in the Americas.

He holds a MA from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies (University of Denver) as well as a BA from Tulane University where he triple-majored in International Relations, Economics, and Latin American Studies.

The U.S.-China competition is reaching up into the stars. In the past decade, the PRC has quickly developed its space capabilities, including space-enabling infrastructure across Latin America. National security researchers have raised alarms about how the PRC could leverage its space infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere to monitor U.S. and other country satellites, intercept sensitive information, and even potentially help guide its hypersonic missiles. What is the true extent of the PRC’s space capabilities in the Western Hemisphere, and how does the PRC threaten U.S. and partner nations’ security in the region? This week, Leland sits down with Guido Torres, Executive Director of the Irregular Warfare Initiative, and Laura Lopez Delgado, former Visiting Fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Americas Program, to discuss China’s long march into the final frontier.

Check out their full report:

Guido Torres is the Executive Director of IWI and a national security professional with over two decades of experience working on sensitive special operations, supporting military and interagency campaigns. He is a Department of Defense Civilian and was a National Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center (2022-2023), where he worked with the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Project. Guido is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Forward Defense program of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

Laura Delgado López was a Visiting Fellow with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she wrote on international space cooperation in Latin America. During her tenure, she was funded by a 2023-2024 Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship.

Artificial Intelligence has continued to force industries to evolve, but legislation has struggled to keep up at the same pace. Earlier this year, the Jack D. Gordon Institute held the inaugural Florida AI Policy Summit which aimed to address AI policy changes to the state’s legislative body. Today, Mike Asencio joins us once more, this time as guest co-host, as we speak to Gordon Institute Director Brian Fonseca on key policy takeaways from the summit. Together we explore AI’s impact across academia, industry, and the private sector and determine the framework of governance needed.

Brian Fonseca is Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University’s (FIU) Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. He is the founding Executive Director of Cybersecurity@FIU, FIU's university-wide interdisciplinary emerging preeminent program. Brian also serves as a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow and International Security Fellow at the D.C.-based think tank New America. His analysis has been featured in local, national, and international media and he serves as the on-air political analyst for South Florida’s WSVN-Fox News. Brian has testified before the U.S. Congress in 2019 and 2021.

The Western Hemisphere is facing a 4th wave of transnational crime, and this time the gangs are coming from across the Atlantic. In this episode of the JGI Policy Pulse, host Leland Lazarus sits down with Douglas Farah of the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies to discuss the rise of Italian, Albanian, and Turkish gangs operating in the Americas.

Douglas Farah is a senior adviser to the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) and founder and president of IBI Consultants, LLC (www.ibiconsultants.net), a consulting firm that specializes in field research studying security challenges and transnational organized crime in Latin America. Its clients include the U.S. government (DOD, State Department), leading think tanks (CSIS, Atlantic Council) and the private sector.

In the Caribbean, several countries have been disrupted by the increase of “Problems Without Passports” (PWPs). Join us in this episode of the JGI Policy Pulse, as Dr. Ivelaw Griffith sits down with us to break down his insights from his recent publication: Challenged Sovereignty: The Impact of Drugs, Crime, Terrorism, and Cyber Threats in the Caribbean. Dive into the intricacies of sovereignty disputes within CARICOM and where the stability of these nations currently stand.

Ivelaw Griffith is a Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium and Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. He has published numerous scholarly articles and seven books, including Drugs and Security in the Caribbean, The Political Economy of Drugs in the Caribbean, and Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror. The University of Illinois Press will publish his next book, Challenged Sovereignty: The Impact of Drugs, Crime, Terrorism and Cyber Challenges on Security and Sovereignty in the Caribbean. Recipient of the Dr. William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education, named in honor of former U.S. Defense Secretary Dr. William J. Perry, Professor Griffith, has testified before the U.S. Congress on Caribbean security issues. Dr. Griffith also has served in several academic leadership roles, including as Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, President of Fort Valley State University in Georgia, Provost of universities in Virginia and New York, and as a Dean at Florida International University. Ivelaw, who holds degrees from The University of Guyana and The City University of New York (CUNY), has been a consultant to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and other agencies, and a visiting scholar at the Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the George Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany.

For good or for ill, crypto continues to make global headlines. While cryptocurrencies have been accepted into Exchange Traded Funds, there have also been high profile arrests of crypto tycoons like Sam Bankman Fried and CZ Zhao. In this episode, we delve into the complex world of cryptocurrencies and their potential threats to national security. FIU’s Mike Asencio sits down with Leland to explore how the anonymity and decentralization of digital currencies can facilitate illicit activities, from money laundering to funding terrorism, posing significant challenges to law enforcement and global security. Tune in to understand the true costs of crypto.

Mike Asencio serves as Program Director of Cybersecurity at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy. In this role, he manages a statewide cybersecurity for executive leadership professional education program (CyberSecureFlorida Training Initiative), an initiative funded by Cyber Florida. His primary focus areas encompass AI, cybersecurity, cyber infrastructure resiliency, cyber safety, and public policy in cyber, reflecting his commitment to safeguarding digital landscapes.

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing every industry in the world, and it has profound implications for the way countries need to think about national security. In today's episode of JGI Policy Pulse, we speak with New America's Senior Fellow, Peter W. Singer, on AI's rapid advancement and how it affects national security. Learn about the opportunities and challenges AI will bring and understand how this emerging technology will shape the world as we know it.

Peter Warren Singer is Strategist at New America, a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, and Founder & Managing Partner at Useful Fiction LLC, a company specializing in strategic narrative. A New York Times Bestselling author, described in the Wall Street Journal as “the premier futurist in the national-security environment” and “all-around smart guy” in the Washington Post, he has been named by the Smithsonian as one of the nation’s 100 leading innovators, by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense issues, by Foreign Policy to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List, and as an official “Mad Scientist” for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.

In this special episode celebrating Women’s History Month, our host Leland chats with Dui Mora Turner, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel who led U.S. Southern Command’s Women, Peace and Security program. Listen as Dui describes her personal and professional journey: coming to the U.S. from Brazil, becoming an Air Force meteorologist, inspiring young service members across LatAm, and launching FIU’s WPS Forum!

Duilia "Dui" Turner is a Leadership and Foreign Affairs Advisor with a special interest in Latin America and the Caribbean. As an international speaker and lecturer, she has collaborated with the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Wilson Center, and the Special Operations Community. She is also a non-resident senior fellow for the Women in International Security (WIIS) and a contributing author and editor for multiple publications, including “Twenty Years, Twenty Stories: Women, Peace, and Security in the Western Hemisphere” and “Culture Shock: Leadership Lessons from the Military’s Diplomatic Corps.”

A retired Air Force Officer, Duilia held key positions in crisis response, STEM, human capital development, and global management. As a scientist, she supported shuttle missions at Cape Canaveral—including NASA’s STS-95 when Senator John Glenn returned to space—and served as the Chief Meteorologist for President Obama’s Air Force One. As a Foreign Affairs Officer, she promoted military diplomacy, worked on policy and strategy, and became the first Chief of the Women, Peace, and Security Program at the United States Southern Command.

Duilia has been deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. She has received three congressional recognitions and was named New America’s “2020 Latino National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader”. Duilia is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and holds a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master in International Relations.

Over the past decade, China has expanded its influence in Latin America and the Caribbean in a plethora of ways. But one area that hasn’t garnered as much attention is its engagement in regional organizations. In this episode of the JGI Policy Pulse, FIU Ph.D. candidate Adam Ratzlaff delves into China’s complex relationship with over 30 regional organizations and forums.

Adam Ratzlaff is a PhD candidate in International Relations at Florida International University and the Deputy Director of Global Americans, a DC-based think tank on Hemispheric affairs. Prior to coming to FIU, Ratzlaff conducted political and economic analysis for organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Southern Pulse Correspondents.

His research interests include U.S.-Latin American foreign policy, Sino-Latin American foreign policy, Pan-American cooperation, the defense of democracy in the Americas, fiscal policy, and economic and social development in Latin America. He has published extensively on these topics in popular venues including Diplomatic Courier, The National Interest, and Charged Affairs among others. Ratzlaff’s dissertation examines how the Organization of American States (OAS) responds to and shapes the evolving threats to democracy in the Americas.

He holds a MA from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies (University of Denver) as well as a BA from Tulane University where he triple-majored in International Relations, Economics, and Latin American Studies.