Name: A Talk w/ Amb. Shapiro on Venezuela after Maduro & Latin American Affairs
Start: 2026-03-03T11:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-03T13:00:00-05:00
Location: Miami Dade College - Wolfson Auditorium

$A Talk w\/ Amb. Shapiro on Venezuela after Maduro & Latin American Affairs$

The World Affairs Council of Miami & Miami Dade College invite you to a talk with former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro
About this Event
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You are invited to join the World Affairs Council of Miami on March 3rd for a timely, high-level conversation on Venezuela after Maduro & U.S. Policy in Latin America with former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles S. Shapiro.

Ambassador Shapiro served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela from 2002 to 2004 and has extensive experience in Latin American affairs as a senior U.S. diplomat, including serving as Coordinator for Cuban Affairs and in leadership roles within the State Department’s Western Hemisphere Bureau.

Presented in partnership with Miami Dade College, this program is part of our Mark Samuelian Distinguished Speaker Series and will be hosted at Miami Dade College – Wolfson Campus in collaboration with the Miami Dade College Honors College and the Miami Dade College Institute for Freedom in the Americas. The conversation will be moderated by Aaron Rosen, President & Founder, World Affairs Council of Miami.

The conversation will touch on issues of democratic governance, economic reform, energy markets, and evolving U.S. strategic priorities. Particular attention will be given to the state of the U.S.-Venezuela bilateral relationship, open questions regarding the rule of law and international investment in Venezuela, and broader themes regarding Washington’s vision for the United States' role in the Western Hemisphere.

Join us to hear from Ambassador Shapiro on the future of U.S. policy toward Venezuela and Latin America, how Washington and its partners are navigating emerging opportunities and challenges in the post-Maduro era, and what these dynamics mean for regional stability and U.S. engagement across the hemisphere.

Free guest parking will be available in Bldg. 7 Garage, 500 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL (see below for directions)

11:00am - 11:30am - Registration with light refreshments

11:30am - 12:30pm - A Conversation with Ambassador Shapiro on Venezuela after Maduro and U.S. Policy in Latin America

12:30pm - 1:00pm - Continued networking to close

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Speaker bio:

Ambassador Charles Shapiro is the immediate past president of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta and a senior lecturer at the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. From 2011-2013 Shapiro was the president of the Institute of the Americas at the University of California San Diego. He held numerous senior positions at the U.S. Department of State, including Ambassador to Venezuela, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, and Coordinator for Cuban Affairs.
President Bush awarded Shapiro a presidential Meritorious Service Award in 2004, Chile decorated him with the Orden al Mérito de Chile in 2005, and Secretary of State Clinton awarded him The Secretary’s Career Achievement Award in 2011. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College.

Moderator bio:

Aaron Rosen serves as President and Founder of the World Affairs Council of Miami since 2021. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and a 2024 Eisenhower Fellow. Prior to returning home to South Florida, Aaron researched international technology policy and Russian affairs with the Alfa Fellowship Program in Moscow. He previously worked as a Washington, D.C.-based specialist in U.S. foreign policy for MUFG Bank, formerly the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and completed a graduate fellowship with the European Parliament in Brussels.
Aaron has experience working with various legislative and diplomatic bodies, including the U.S. Congress, German Bundestag, Australian House of Representatives, Canadian House of Commons, Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies, Embassy of Mexico in the United States, and the European Parliament Liaison Office to the U.S. Congress.
Aaron earned a dual masters concentrated on U.S. foreign policy and international history from the George Washington University and the London School of Economics, and holds a bachelors in international relations and comparative politics from the University of Central Florida. Aaron was born in Southern California and raised in South Florida. He speaks German, Spanish, and intermediate Russian.

Free guest parking will be available in the Miami Dade College Bldg. 7 Garage, 500 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL. The event itself will be held in Bldg. 1.