How did Venezuela, with the world’s largest oil reserves, go from being one of Latin America’s richest and most stable states to oppressed, socialist, and blanketed in blackouts? What implications does its descent into poverty and chaos have for U.S. policymakers and voters? And what may be the consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to showcase Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó at last week’s State of the Union address? These are but three of the questions our guests will address on February 25th.

Wall Street Journal editor Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes the weekly “The Americas” column, in which she covers politics, economics, and business in Venezuela and throughout Latin America. Her many honors include the Walter Judd Freedom Award from The Fund for American Studies, the Thomas Jefferson Award from The Association of Private Enterprise Education, as well as the Bastiat Prize for Journalism, which she won for her coverage of the underground economy in Brazil.

Andrés Guilarte, 25, had his studies in international relations at Venezuela’s Central University cut short by tear gas, when government forces tried to quash pro-democracy protests on campus. He left Venezuela in 2019. Today, on behalf of the Fund for American Studies, he tours U.S. colleges, warning students of the cautionary example offered by his country’s collapse.

Join us on Tuesday, February 25th, to learn the latest about Venezuela and what its troubled experience means for the U.S.