Firsthand accounts of Cuba's intelligence priorities, methods, operations and penetration, providing exceptional insight into the threats documented in the U. S. Department of State report "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism"
A question-and-answer session will follow the panel presentations.
OPENING REMARKS
Carlos Diaz-Rosillo- Founding Director of the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom
MODERATOR
Helen Aguirre-Ferre- Program Director- Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom
FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS FROM HIGH RANKING REGIME INSIDERS
José Cohen — Former officer, Cuba's Directorate of Intelligence
Enrique GarcÃa — Former officer, Cuba's Directorate of Intelligence
Alcibiades Hidalgo — Former Chief of Staff to Raúl Castro, former Ambassador to the United Nations (By video)
FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
Stuart Hoyt Jr. — Retired FBI special agent who led numerous operations against Cuba's spy network
Peter Lapp — Retired FBI Special Agent who captured and debriefed Pentagon spy Ana Belen Montes
ACADEMIC INFILTRATION, U. S. NETWORKS & INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
MarÃa Werlau — Executive Director Cuba Archive
Gelet MartÃnez — Executive Director, ADN Cuba
ABOUT FIU’S CUBA DESK AND TRANSITION INITIATIVEÂ
Based in the heart of Miami, Florida International University serves as the premier academic hub for scholarship and research focused on Cuba. The Cuba Desk series is an extension of the university's collaboration across sectors and seeks to convene consequential voices and decision makers in Washington and elsewhere for timely programs relating to the potential for transition in Cuba. The university recently launched a transition initiative to harness the talents across the university to support any US Government Initiatives by leveraging its research strengths in humanitarian support, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, population health, human capital needs and so much more.
This year, the university also broke ground on CasaCuba at the Benjamin Leon Jr. Building — a first-of-its-kind cultural, academic and convening center on its main campus in Miami which is envisioned to be an active, collaborative hub for these activities. FIU is ranked  a Top 50 Public University by US News and World Report and FIU in Washington, D.C. showcases the impact of FIU research; provides students with engaged academic experiences and internships; and convenes national partners for meaningful conversations across a broad range of issues as it brings the magic of Miami to the nation’s capital.Â
Â
The university is honored to host the largest concentration of Cuban-American students, faculty and also courses focused on the Island. The university recently launched a transition initiative to harness the talents across the university to support any US Government Initiatives focused on a Democratic transition in Cuba.
