Lecturer, researcher and country expert witness, with over 15 years of research and fieldwork experience examining armed conflicts, political violence, peace processes and post-conflict transitions, mainly in Colombia, and recently the Colombo-Venezuelan transnational conflicts. My expertise is grounded in extensive ethnographic research in conflict-affected regions, where I have conducted first-hand investigations into armed group activity, forced recruitment, internal displacement, and political and illicit economy-related violence.
Armed Conflict and Security
- Colombian and Transnational armed conflict dynamics and political persecution
- Non-state armed groups: guerrillas, paramilitaries, and criminal organisations
- Intersection of organised crime and insurgencies
- Colombian security apparatus and state responses to violence
- Regional variations in violence and conflict intensity across Colombia
Peace Process and Transitional Justice
- Peace negotiations, reforms, and post-accord implementation
- Transitional justice mechanisms and reconciliation processes
- Ex-combatant reintegration and amnesty programmes
Forced Displacement and Migration
- Internal and transnational displacement and forced migration patterns
- Forced recruitment by armed groups
- Colombia-Venezuela cross-border massive emigration, transnational crime, human trafficking
Vulnerable and At-Risk Populations
- Trade unionists, environmental activists, and human rights defenders
- Former insurgents and individuals involved in illicit economies
- LGBTQ+ individuals in conflict-affected areas
- Women and gender-based violence in armed conflict
- Rural communities and peasant populations
- Venezuelan and Colombian economic migrants
Structural Context
- Socioeconomic inequalities along gender, class, ethnicity, and rural-urban divides
- Illicit economies and their impact on civilian populations
- Recruitment practices and targeting by non-state armed groups
I am a Latin American specialist with extensive field and academic experience in Colombia and Venezuela. From 2003 to 2007, I served at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, preparing diplomats in language proficiency and current regional issues ahead of their in-country postings. Between 2011 and 2015, I worked as a university lecturer in Latin American socioeconomic issues while completing my MSc research on the political left in Colombia, working closely with leftist leaders and activists at the intersection of democratisation processes, peace negotiations, and political violence.
From 2016 to 2025, my doctoral research focused on conflict-affected populations in Colombia, particularly ex-combatants following the peace process. This work involved extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the violence-affected Cauca region, where I embedded myself within local communities to examine on-the-ground dynamics including armed conflict, drug-related crime, illicit economies, forced recruitment, displacement, and armed group control.
My first-hand experience working with both perpetrators and vulnerable populations has given me a profound understanding of the multilevel structural inequalities and patterns of violence that drive individuals and communities to flee their homes, become internally displaced, seek international protection, or become populations entitled to protection under national and international law.
Indigenous groups from the Colombian pacific
o Demobilised guerrillas
o Left-wing party members
o Trade Unionists
o Human Rights Defenders
o Signatories of Peace Agreement
o Female community leaders
o Displaced persons
o Venezuelan migrants