Professional Experience
Geopolitics, economy, trade, drugs, guns, child soldiers, money laundering, and terrorist financing dictate my travels and have managed to attract Maxim, FHM, and Rolling Stone. As an investigative journalist, I work on stories that dig deep into detail, hopefully revealing the truth while giving voice to the less fortunate. As a StratFor correspondent, I react to subtle changes in the geopolitical fabric of Latin America, and help figure out what's going on. As a travel writer with Rum & Reggae, I look for the hottest nightclubs, the sexiest beaches, the best food, and most comfortable night's rest.
Expertise
Editor (photo, picture) 2 YearsEditor 6 YearsWriter 8 Years
Specialty
War & Conflicts 6 YearsTravel 5 YearsCrime 8 Years
Industries
Book Publishing Consumer 2 YearsMagazine - Large Consumer/National magazines 4 YearsOnline/new media 8 Years
Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)
- International Relations and Security Network (3-5)
- Author (1-2)
Awards
N/A
Associations
N/A
Other Work History
reporter - Business News Americas
correspondent - Strategic Forcasting
travel writer - Rum & Reggae Guide Books
Technical Skills
photo editing (Adobe), graphic layout (Quark), web design (Adobe)
Foreign Language Skills
Spanish, Portuguese
Unions
N/A
Computer Skills
MS Small Office Suite; Quark; Photoshop; Ready, Set, Go!
Equipment
Laptop, digital camera, cell phone, audio recording equipment
Work Permits & Visas
Foreign Correspondent Visa - Brazil
References
available upon request
Security Watch
(International Relations and Security Network 7/6/2005)
Billions spent to combat the drug trade in the Andes has resulted in decreased security and need for better policy.
(International Relations and Security Network 6/20/2005)
Regional shifts in gas production and distribution follow in the wake of Bolivia’s political crisis.
(International Relations and Security Network 7/19/2005)
South America’s oldest revolutionary movement has lost its moral high ground. It has backtracked on its Marxist-socialist principles and now threatens national and regional security rather than helping Colombia’s poor.
(International Relations and Security Network 7/27/2005)
Venezuela’s bulging oil revenues have left the region’s integration in the hands of Hugo Chavez - the only South American leader with a combination of cash and relative political stability to focus on developments beyond his country’s borders - but it is an uncertain future at best.
(International Relations and Security Network 8/4/2005)
China’s grand economic entrance into South America has some observers worried about a possible shift in the balance of power in the Western Hemisphere.
(International Relations and Security Network 7/29/2005)
In the Uraba region of northwestern Colombia, violence and brutality are the norm, and few have more experience with massacres than those who live in peace communities and humanitarian zones.
(International Relations and Security Network 9/5/2005)
Colombia’s paramilitary groups have agreed to dismantle their military arm, but the process is only legitimizing their network of political power and country-wide control of land, as well as the suppression of anyone who threatens their rule.
Security Watch New Briefs
(International Relations and Security Network 9/15/2005)
Brazil opened on 15 September the region's first carbon credit market. The Rio de Janeiro stock exchange will serve as a platform for industry in developed countries to offset greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credit from carbon sequestration projects in Brazil.
(International Relations and Security Network 9/13/2005)
The Colombian has relased a top ELN leader on condition that he begins a dialogue to organized an agenda that will be proposed to the Colombian government in the first step towards a cease-fire and peace negotiations.
(International Relationas and Security Network 9/8/2005)
social tensions caused by a lack of security have erupted over small fluctuations in gas prices.
(International Relations and Security Network 9/9/2005)
Bolivian presidential hopeful, Evo Morales, has renewed his push to win votes from Bolivia's center-left. Yet the Bolivian elections still may serve to repeat history.
Americas Policy
(Americas Policy 10/15/2004)
In the wake of landmark disarmament legislation, Brazil inaugurated the country's first gun buy-back program. We're not sure if it will work the intended miracle: to reduce violent crime.
(Americas Policy 9/16/2004)
Story about the children and youth of organized armed violence in Rio de Janeiro.
(Americas Policy 2/15/2005)
Is President Uribe's decision to disarm, demobolize, and reintegrate Colombia's paramilitary forces a case of perserverance and good will or simply crafty political manuevering ahead of a reelection bid and US funding approval? This story peels back the layers, revealing the weakest link: legislation.
(Americas Policy 8/28/2005)
China's increased footprint in Latin America is a cause for worry in Washington and a reason to hope for a better future in Latin America. What are the longterm outcomes of China's presence in Latin America?
Misc
(Brazzil Magazine 12/14/2003)
Viva Rio was the first of many anti-violence NGOs founded in response to the Candelária church and the Vigário Geral slum massacres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its mandate: to motivate individuals, businesses, associations, and government officials
to construct a more just and democratic society.
(Maxim Magazine 5/15/2004)
A feature-length story on the urban wars that ravage the slums of Brazil's most beautiful city.
(In Motion Magazine 8/3/2003)
There are over 80 million illigal weapons in circulaiton in Brazil. The country's most beautiful city took a step in the right direction when it gathered and destroyed thousands of these weapons, drawing attention to the world-wide problem of the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons.
(Brazzil Magazine 11/5/2003)
In Rio, anyone can ask around and find a cheap pistol and a handful of bullets. Clandestine gun dealers sell revolvers for as little as US$ 18. As a result, altercations between motorists, taxi drivers, or other civilians, which might become a shouting
match now frequently end in blood shed and often death.
(InfoAmericas 5/18/2005)
Countering the demands for more populist policies is the sobering reality for most political leaders that South America's reliance on foreign markets and capital requires fiscal conservatism.
