Expert Team: Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean

María José Espinosa is an economist and foreign policy expert specializing in migration, democratic governance, and U.S. engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA) and as Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for International Policy. Under her leadership, CEDA has expanded its regional work across Latin America and strengthened partnerships with civil society, governments, philanthropic organizations, and multilateral institutions, becoming an important hemispheric voice on migration, diplomacy, and human rights.

María José advises policymakers, multilateral institutions, philanthropic leaders, and civil society actors on migration governance, regional cooperation, and hemispheric policy dynamics. She has led high-level delegations across the Americas connecting decision-makers with on-the-ground realities shaping migration, governance, and regional stability. Her analysis and commentary have been featured in international media outlets including the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, and El País, and she is the author and co-author of multiple policy reports on Latin America and the Caribbean.

She serves on the board of the Miami Freedom Project for Democracy and was recognized by New America as one of the 2020 Latino National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders. She completed executive education in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management at Harvard Business School and holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Economics and Tourism from the Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain), an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Havana, and a B.A. in Economics from the same university.

Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP), Carolina Trivelli served as Peru’s Minister for Development and Social Inclusion from 2011 to 2013.

She acts as a consultant for international organisations and advises the private sector and civil society actors. Carolina is a member of Peru’s Fiscal Council (MEF) and of the INEI’s Advisory Committee on Poverty Estimation. She also sits on the boards of several foundations and companies, and is a columnist for El Comercio and Gestión. 

Carolina holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Pennsylvania State University and a degree in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP).

A recognised authority in the field of peace mediation, Teresa Whitfield is an independent consultant for Conciliation Resources, editor of an Accord volume on adaptation and innovation in peace mediation (forthcoming), and advisor to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. From 2016 to 2022, she served as the director of the Policy and Mediation Division of the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. 

Earlier in her career, Teresa spent five years in the 1990s working with the UN on peace processes in Central America. From 2005 to 2008, she served as the Director of the Social Science Research Council’s Peace and Conflict Prevention Forum. From 2015 to 2016, she was Senior Advisor to the President of the International Crisis Group.

Teresa has published extensively on conflict resolution and mediation. Her books include Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuría and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador (Temple University Press/UCA Editores, 1995/1998); Friends Indeed? The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict (United States Institute of Peace, 2007); and Endgame for ETA: Elusive Peace in the Basque Country (Hurst and Oxford University Press/ICIP, 2014/2015).

Teresa holds a degree from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from the University of London.

A teacher and politician, Mariana Aylwin has over 30 years of professional experience and has held significant positions in Chile. She served as a Congressional Representative for La Florida (1994-1998), Minister of Education during the government of Ricardo Lagos (2000-2003), and Regional Counsellor of the Metropolitan Area of Santiago (2014-2017). 

Mariana began her political career in 1987 as the national deputy director of the Women’s Department of the Christian Democratic Party and was a member of the central Board of Directors of the same party between 1992 and 1993. Currently, she holds the position of Vice President of the Patricio Aylwin Foundation, serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Gabriela Mistral University, and is the Executive Director of the Learn Educational Corporation. Mariana has also served as the Director of the Belén Educa Foundation and as the President of the Oportunidad Foundation.  She is a part of the Board of Directors of the Chile Foundation and of the Foreign Policy Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. 

Mariana holds a degree in Pedagogy in History, Geography, and Civic Education from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She has written several publications related to political issues and education.

Leonardo Padura Fuentes is a renowned Cuban writer, journalist, and screenwriter. With a degree in Latin American literature from the University of Havana, he has garnered international acclaim for his detective novel series featuring Mario Conde. His most celebrated work, “The Man Who Loved Dogs” (2009), delves into Cuban history and investigates the life of Ramón Mercader, the assassin of Leon Trotsky. Padura’s narrative is anchored in crime fiction, while deftly reflecting the realities of Cuban society and offering insightful social commentary. 

Beyond his literary endeavours, Padura is a prolific literary essayist and screenwriter, crafting scripts for both documentaries and feature films. In 2016, Netflix launched the miniseries “Four Seasons in Havana,” an adaptation of Padura’s novels published between 1991 and 1998, comprising the tetralogy “The Four Seasons.” 

Padura’s literary prowess has been recognised with numerous esteemed awards, including the 2012 National Prize for Literature of Cuba, the Order of Arts and Letters bestowed by the French government in 2013, and the prestigious Princess of Asturias Prize for Literature in 2015.

Alongside his extensive experience in the private construction sector in Venezuela, Central America, the Caribbean, Spain, and West Africa, Joaquín Livinalli has actively participated in the entrepreneurial sphere of his home country, Venezuela. He has been a co-drafter of legislative initiatives on urban development and housing policy. He has also served as a visiting professor in construction management at the Engineering Faculty of the Universidad Metropolitana and the Universidad Central de Venezuela, respectively.

A publisher, author, and editor in cultural affairs, he is currently engaged in two new projects: one on applied behavioural economics and its sociological implications for contemporary elites, and the other a historical investigation of a building he rehabilitated on the palatial Calle Salustiano Olózaga in Madrid, Spain.

Joaquín earned a degree in Statistical and Actuarial Sciences from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He also holds a degree in Law from the Universidad de Santa María in Caracas.

For 36 years, General Óscar Naranjo served in the Colombian National Police, where his career was marked by major achievements in combating crime, spearheading institutional modernisation, and fostering a profound sense of trust among citizens. In 2007, he was elevated to the position of Director General of the Police. Throughout his tenure, he garnered numerous accolades, including the Semana Magazine Tribute for his exceptional leadership, and recognition as one of the 500 most influential people in the world by Foreign Policy magazine in its Power Issue. 

After his service in the National Police, General Naranjo assumed the helm of the Latin American Institute of Citizenship at the Tecnológico y de Educación Superior de Monterrey (TEC), providing expert guidance to the Mexican federal government until 2014. That same year, he was appointed Minister of the Presidency for Post-Conflict, Human Rights, and Security, a role he held until November 2015. 

In his pivotal role as Plenipotentiary Negotiator for the Government of Colombia in the peace talks with the FARC, he played a crucial role in the construction of the Final Agreement signed in 2016. In March 2017, he was elected by Congress as Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, tasked with overseeing the development and implementation of the Final Agreement; spearheading the fight against organised crime; ensuring citizen security; formulating and implementing a comprehensive policy for the promotion, defence, and protection of human rights; and advising and coordinating the preparation, structuring, and development of a comprehensive public policy for the fight against illicit drugs. He served as Vice President until August 2018.

On May 1, 2023, General Naranjo assumed the presidency of the Social Council of the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja in Colombia, where he plays a key role in promoting the right to higher education and spearheading initiatives aimed at strengthening peaceful coexistence and safeguarding human rights. He also serves as a distinguished member of the Expert Advisory Group for IFIT’s Peace Treaty Initiative.

Dolores Gandulfo has extensive experience in democracy, electoral systems, and human rights in Latin America. She is currently the Secretary of International Relations of the MERCOSUR Parliament.

She founded and directed the Electoral Observatory of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPPAL) for ten years, coordinating more than 40 electoral missions across Latin America and the Caribbean. She also served as Director of Institutional Policy at the Ombudsman’s Office of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2013–2023) and as coordinator of the Working Group on Electoral Observation with a Human Rights Perspective of the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen (FIO).

She is a member of the Observatory of Political Reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean (IIJ-UNAM), the Argentine Association of International Relations Studies (AERIA), the Ojo Paritario Collective, and the Network of Women Political Scientists.

She has published extensively on electoral observation, human rights, and political parties in Latin America. She is a doctoral candidate in political science at the National University of General San Martín (Argentina), holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Salvador.

A journalist by profession, Cecília Olliveira has dedicated her career to covering violence and drug and arms trafficking. She is the founder and executive director of Fogo Cruzado Institute, an organisation that uses technology to generate and distribute open and collaborative data on armed violence in Brazil.

Cecília also co-founded the news portal Intercept Brasil, and serves as director of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI). She has previously worked as a consultant for Amnesty International and a communications advisor for the PRVL (Programme for the Reduction of Lethal Violence against Adolescents and Young People), an initiative undertaken by the Favelas Observatory in collaboration with UNICEF and the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil.

Cecília holds a postgraduate degree in Crime and Public Security from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. She studied drug policy, HIV, and human rights at the University of Texas and participated in the “Latin American Advocacy Fellowship Program on Drug Policy Reform” of Open Society Foundations. In 2020, Cecília was a finalist for the Reporters Without Borders Press Awards, an honour that recognises courageous voices in global media.