Geoff Ramsey

Geoff Ramsey

Geoff Ramsey is WOLA’s Director for Venezuela, and coordinates the program’s research and advocacy in Washington. He is a leading expert on Venezuela’s political crisis, and has traveled regularly to the country since 2014. He is in close contact with key actors working for an end to the crisis in Venezuela, both inside and outside of the country. Mr. Ramsey advocates for policies that advance a peaceful, negotiated solution to Venezuela’s crisis, that address the urgent humanitarian needs of the Venezuelan people, and that support a humane response to the unique needs of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. In addition to authoring a number of reports and commentary pieces for WOLA and the Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog, his work has been cited or published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and other major media outlets. Before joining WOLA, Mr. Ramsey carried out consulting work as a researcher for the Open Society Foundation’s Latin America Program. His work involved monitoring civil society advocacy for and implementation of 2013 drug policy reforms in Uruguay, where he lived for two years. Prior to that he lived in Colombia and Brazil, where he researched and reported on regional insecurity issues for InSight Crime. Mr. Ramsey earned an M.A. in International Affairs from the American University School of International Service, as well a B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Spanish from AU.

How Regional Civil Society Organizations are Showing Solidarity with Fleeing Venezuelans

As Venezuela’s humanitarian and economic crisis has grown deeper in recent years, the number of Venezuelan migrants and refugees abroad has surged to almost 6 million. The United Nations reports that 5.7 million Venezuelans have now fled the country, which makes up almost 20 percent of Venezuela’s population. This tragedy is the largest mass displacement in the hemisphere’s recent history.

Episode 9: Humanitarian update and the U.S. role in Venezuela

In the latest episode of The Venezuela Briefing, hosts Geoff Ramsey and Kristen Martinez-Gugerli interview Daniel Cooper Bermúdez, a Venezuelan political scientist, human rights activist, and founder of Hearts on Venezuela, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of Venezuela’s crisis through the translation of the work of civil society organizations for an English-speaking audience.