Venezuela in the Crosshairs

Dorothy Kronick

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Goldman School of Public Policy
U.C. Berkeley

John Polga-Hecimovich

Associate Professor of Political Science

Publicly presented as battling "narco-terrorism" and reversing democratic erosion, but privately promoted as freeing oil and other natural resources, and gaining geopolitical influence, the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign has brought significant instability to Venezuela and the surrounding region.

Prof. Kronick, an expert in Contemporary Latin American politics specializing in Venezuela, and Prof. Polga-Hecimovich, specializing in military capabilities and their application by the executive, will provide a historical review of how decades of unchecked populism, class warfare, and mismanagement have weakened one of the richest Latin American nations into a fertile ground for both drug dealers as well as neo-imperialist speculators. They will also share their perspectives on various trajectories that this latest escalation may follow militarily, politically, economically, and socially.

Co-sponsored by Brown and Yale Clubs of DC

Time will be allocated for Q&A.

Dorothy Kronick is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley. She studies contemporary Venezuela and the politics of crime and policing in Latin America. Her academic work has been published in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, Science, and other top outlets. Her commentary on Venezuela has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Caracas Chronicles. Prior to joining U.C. Berkeley, Professor Kronick taught at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Stanford University and lived in Venezuela as a Fulbright Scholar.

John Polga-Hecimovich is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the United States Naval Academy.  His research focuses on the effects of political institutions on democratic stability, policymaking, and governance in Latin America. He has written widely about Venezuela and is the co-editor of Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela Under Nicolás Maduro (Routledge Press, 2025). John has an MA in Latin American Studies from the Universidad Andina Simon Bolívar in Ecuador and received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.