Leadership

David Smolansky is a Senior Fellow of Latin American Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the deputy director of the ConVzla presidential campaign office in Washington, D.C. He led the diaspora movement for Maria Corina Machado’s candidacy in 77 cities across the world during the 2023 primary election of the opposition. He is also an SNF Agora Institute fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where he serves as a visiting professor, teaching courses on democracy and authoritarianism.

Smolansky served as the Mayor of El Hatillo City in Caracas, Venezuela. His tenure as Mayor gained national and international recognition for its transparency and notable reduction in kidnappings, despite operating in one of the world’s most violent capitals.

His commitment to addressing human rights violations and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela led him to play a pivotal role in non-violent protests against Maduro’s dictatorship. As a result of defending democratic values while serving in local government, he faced arbitrary arrest warrants, removal from his Mayoral role, illegal disqualification for public service, banned from voting, and ultimately, forced into exile.

After fleeing Venezuela, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) appointed Smolansky as the special envoy to address the Venezuelan migration and refugee crisis, the largest in the world. He authored 15 reports and conducted over 20 official visits to 11 countries in the Americas, advocating for policies to protect and integrate Venezuelan migrants and refugees who have fled Maduro’s regime.

Smolansky’s academic background includes a B.A. in Journalism from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and a Master of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. He also served as a visiting fellow at Georgetown University and a Draper Hills Fellow at Stanford University.

The violation of the human, political, and civic rights of Smolansky has been brought before the International Criminal Court and was featured in reports by the OAS and United Nations on possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela.