On Sept. 17, FIU in DC hosted their first collaboration with the Atlantic Council think tank about the implications of Middle East security trends for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Students and professors from FIU and other universities filled the crowd for a discussion about a region close to Miami’s heart and how it’s becoming increasingly impacted by renewed instability in the Middle East.
In the panel, experts said the relationship between the two regions is developing through propaganda, illicit finances through smuggling and money laundering, and symbolic diplomacy, with Iran and proxy groups exploiting vulnerabilities in weak governance zones such as Venezuela. Throughout the discussion, they cited recent policy briefs by the Atlantic Council and past terrorist attacks in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“What we have seen is that there are three areas in which they have engaged such as illicit finance, political and economic influence, and acts of terrorism,” said Gabriela Hoberman, the director of academic programs at FIU’s Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center.
Part of the talk also looked at possible solutions, such as strengthening regional intelligence and cross-border cooperation, and pushing Latin America and the Caribbean to acknowledge and combat the expansion of terrorist organizations in the region through stronger and stricter financing laws.
“A main takeaway is [that] collaboration is key,” said Miguel Escoto, an FIU in DC intern for the Atlantic Council and a Hamilton scholar. “When other Latin American countries collaborate with each other or with the world, we could seek out proactive solutions to issues.”
Moderating the discussion was Jason Marczak, the vice president and senior director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.
Along with Hoberman, other experts on the panel included Daniel Erikson, a fellow of the Adrienne Arsht at the Latin America Center, Kirsten Fontenrose, a fellow involved in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, and Eric Lob, a professor in FIU’s department of politics and international relations at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.
Lob praised the university’s first panel with the Atlantic Council and said FIU was best suited to discuss this topic.
“ We have experts who focus obviously on Latin America, but also the Middle East,” said Lob. “It’s an issue that’s gaining increasing importance from a geostrategic standpoint or geopolitical standpoint.”
FIU in DC’s next event takes place on Oct. 7 with a discussion on how communicators shape the narrative of the nation’s capital.
