Venezuela at a Crossroads: How it Got There and What Comes Next

The University of Maryland School of Public Policy welcomes Angelo Rivero Santos, director of academic affairs at Georgetown University's Center for Latin American Studies and former Chargé d'Affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy to the United States, for a timely conversation examining current policy debates surrounding U.S.-Venezuela relations. The moderated discussion with Dean Flores-Macías will explore political, economic and humanitarian dimensions of U.S. involvement, assessing its impacts on Venezuelan governance, regional stability and international relations.

About the Speaker
Angelo Rivero Santos is a teaching professor and director of academic affairs at the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he oversees the master’s degree, graduate certificate and minor in Latin American studies. He has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, diplomacy, negotiation and advocacy.

From 2006 to 2013, Rivero Santos served as a Venezuelan diplomat in Washington, D.C., including as deputy chief of mission and twice as acting ambassador. His teaching focuses on Latin American and Caribbean studies, international relations, political economy of development and U.S.-Venezuela relations. In the 2025–26 academic year, he serves as interim chair of the Regional Comparative Studies program and as professor of record for the honors thesis workshop.

His research and publications examine international development and U.S.-Venezuela relations. He is a member of the editorial committee of Política: Revista de Ciencia Política at the University of Chile. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Rivero Santos holds a doctorate in international relations, a master’s in public administration and a master’s in economics from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

This event will be held under the Chatham House Rule. Remarks made by any participant or speaker cannot be publicly or privately attributed to them.