Sign in

John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉

@jpolga.bsky.social
396 followers 148 following 45 posts

Political scientist at the U.S. Naval Academy, Minnesotan, Latin Americanist

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Joseph Yans @joeyans.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
🇺🇸🇻🇪 A deep dive into current political and economic state of Venezuela, ten months after Operation Absolute Resolve with @randypestana.bsky.social, @jpolga.bsky.social and a number of prominent experts in the field. wyomingstarnews.org/2026/10/08/e... #USA #Venezuela #politics #economy #analytics
A female militiaman holding a Venezuelan flag in Caracas, January 23, 2026 (Javier Campos / NurPhoto via Reuters)
011
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
European Political Science @epsjournal.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
❇️ FirstView - 📖 Book Review 💬'...an innovative approach...’ Mariana Vahlis reviews "Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro", Edited by @jpolga.bsky.social & Raul Sanchez Urribarri @routledgebooks.bsky.social, 2025 👉https://buff.ly/82Ml3uG
023
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Joseph Yans @joeyans.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
🇺🇸🇻🇪Learn more about the political and economic state of Venezuela after Maduro's abduction in the latest Wyoming Star piece with @crisisgroup.org's Phillip Gunson, @jpolga.bsky.social, and analyst Tom Kloza. wyomingstarnews.org/2026/02/18/e... #Venezuela #USA #politics #economy #analytics
wyomingstarnews.org
EXCLUSIVE: Venezuela After Maduro. The Long Shadow of the White House. | Wyoming Star
On January 3, 2026, the White House released a gallery of photographs under the blunt title: Operation Absolute Resolve. In the images, US special ... read at Wyoming Star. Stay informed with expert i...
032
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
As Jeri falls, it is clear that Peru is ensconced in an "impeachment trap" from which it cannot escape: www.researchgate.net/publication/... I wrote here about why the Peruvian legislature keeps doing this: www.gisreportsonline.com/r/peru-presi...
researchgate.net
(PDF) Latin America. Between Governability Crises and the Impeachment Trap
PDF | Impeachment has become more prevalent across Latin America in recent years. This chapter maps the evolution and use of impeachment as a... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Rese...
031
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Antulio Rosales @antuliorosales.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I wanted to make a thread about the useful analyses coming out about the situation in Venezuela, but there is a lot, and everyday new things come out. It may be more useful to share some of the existing analysis of how we got here. Books in no particular order and on various themes/issues... 🧵
1108
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
*All* exciting chapters!!!!
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I wrote about what political science research suggests about democracy building in Venezuela after the way Nicolás Maduro was removed: blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20... We'll see what comes of María Corina Machado's meeting today with Trump-
blogs.lse.ac.uk
In Venezuela, the US has removed a dictator, but shows little sign of building a democracy | USAPP
While Maduro has been removed, Venezuela remains a dictatorship, and one that is unlikely to transition to a democracy without specific US interventions.
032
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
LSE US Politics and Policy blog - USAPP @lseusablog.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
In Venezuela, the US has removed a dictator, but shows little sign of building a democracy writes @jpolga.bsky.social of the U.S. Naval Academy blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
In Venezuela, the US has removed a dictator, but shows little sign of building a democracy | USAPP
While Maduro has been removed, Venezuela remains a dictatorship, and one that is unlikely to transition to a democracy without specific US interventions.
001
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Maria I. Puerta Riera 🌻 @maripuerta.com · 10/01/2026
@jpolga.bsky.social: "Delcy Rodríguez gobierna entre Washington y el núcleo duro del chavismo" agendapublica.es/noticia/2054...
agendapublica.es
John Polga-Hecimovich, analista especializado en el poder chavista: "Delcy Rodríguez gobierna entre Washington y el núcleo duro del chavismo"
El mundo mira con atención a lo que sucede en Caracas tras la detención de Nicolás Maduro. El académico norteamericano John Polga-Hecimovich es uno de los analistas con más conocimiento del régimen ch...
011
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I'm trying to stay off social media!!!!!! But I really appreciate the shout-out, Kai.
120
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Delighted to see The Economist list 'Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis' as one of "six books to read about Venezuela" Our volume available here and other places: www.routledge.com/Authoritaria... www.economist.com/culture/2026...
economist.com
Six books to read about Venezuela
They explain the country’s slide from democracy to dictatorship
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
I’m pleased to share my new publication with Javier Rodríguez-Sandoval in the Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política: “Las elecciones presidenciales de Ecuador 2025: ¿Realineamiento y bipartidismo sin partidos?” Full-text available here: revistasfcs.edu.uy/index.php/ru...
revistasfcs.edu.uy
Las elecciones presidenciales de Ecuador 2025: ¿realineamiento y bipartidismo sin partidos? | Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política
041
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Joseph Yans @joeyans.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
🇺🇸🇻🇪As the US-Venezuela relations crisis continues, Wyoming Star explores potential military confrontation with @jpolga.bsky.social, IBI Consultants' Douglas Farah, and FIU's Brian Fonseca. Learn more: wyomingstarnews.org/2025/11/03/e... #USA #Venezuela #politics #analytics #military #crime
Pedro Mattey / AFP / Getty
033
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Hopkins Press @hopkinspress.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Read John Polga-Hecimovich's "Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State" in the new issue of Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, now available to read via @projectmuse.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/article/965801
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
032
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
New piece out for GIS: Organized crime is evolving—and spreading—across Latin America, infiltrating not just streets, but states. 🇸🇻 Mano dura may win votes. ⚖️ But real security needs justice, reform & regional coordination. Read here 👉 www.gisreportsonline.com/r/organized-...
gisreportsonline.com
Organized crime and security in Latin America – GIS Reports
Transnational crime in Latin America is growing across the region, posing a challenge to democracies.
030
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Still, there are solutions—but they aren’t easy. To tackle TOC, states need: ✅ Political will ✅ State capacity ✅ International coordination Unfortunately, Venezuela has almost none of these under its current government...
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
000
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
This creates a vicious cycle: 💸 The regime depends on illicit revenue. 🔫 It uses TCOs as security proxies. 🛑 It resists cooperation with other states. Result? Efforts to fight crime can undermine regime survival, meaning real reform is unlikely without regime change.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
100
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Why would a government allow this? Because, under Maduro, the state needs organized crime. Drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, and criminal alliances fund the regime and bolster its coercive power. This is state capture in reverse: the state as a criminal group.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
100
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
In the article, I make four core arguments: 1️⃣ Venezuela protects foreign TCOs like the ELN and ex-FARC. 2️⃣ It helped grow Tren de Aragua from a prison gang to a megabanda. 3️⃣ It exported that gang across Latin America. 4️⃣ The state itself operates as a criminal enterprise.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
100
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Organized crime in Latin America isn’t just a story of weak states—it’s often a story of complicit states. Nowhere is this clearer than in Venezuela, where the state does more than tolerate criminal groups: it protects, fosters, and even acts as one.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
100
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
New article out now in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, "Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State". 📰 muse.jhu.edu/article/965801 📄 DOI: doi.org/10.1353/gia.... In it, I examine the relationship between, well, transnational crime and the Venezuelan state under Maduro.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Transnational Organized Crime and the Venezuelan State
131
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Latinoamérica21 @latinoamerica21.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
🇻🇪 En #MiradaSemanal examinamos el contexto de la elección regional y la consolidación autoritaria en #Venezuela. 🎙️ Para esta edición entrevistamos a @jpolga.bsky.social y Raúl Sanchez Urribarri en compañía de Manuel Alcántara, @maripuerta.com y la conducción de Xavier Rodríguez Franco.
153
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Maria I. Puerta Riera 🌻 @maripuerta.com · 24/05/2025
Join us tomorrow for a Roundtable to discuss our book: “Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro” edited by @jpolga.bsky.social & Raúl Sánchez #LASA2025
0288
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I wrote about Trump Administration rhetoric & policy in Latin America, and how Latin American states are being pushed to pick between the U.S. and China. www.gisreportsonline.com/r/latam-betw...
gisreportsonline.com
Latin America between China and the U.S. – GIS Reports
Central and South America with the Caribbean face growing geopolitical pressure as Washington and Beijing compete for dominance south of the U.S. border.
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
010
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
Antulio Rosales @antuliorosales.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Today I got my copy of Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis, edited by @jpolga.bsky.social and Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí. A nice present in troubled times. Thanks to the editors for their amazing work and to @benedictebull.bsky.social and Manuel Sutherland for awesome team effort.
163
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Raúl and I are thankful to so many people who made this possible, including Iñaki Sagarzazu, with whom we initially conceived of this project way back in 2016.
060
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Víctor Mijares @maripuerta.com @nosumacero.bsky.social @antuliorosales.bsky.social Francisco Sánchez Isabel Rowan Scarpino @orcunselcuk.bsky.social @dsmilde.bsky.social Manuel Sutherland @svitalem.bsky.social Verónica Zubillaga
150
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Our amazing contributors include: @adriboersner.bsky.social @benedictebull.bsky.social Victoria Capriles Marsílea Gombata Rosa Amelia González @beccahanson.bsky.social @pablohernandezb.bsky.social Charles Larratt-Smith @daniel-leon87.bsky.social Miguel Ángel Martínez Meucci Michael McCarthy
150
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
The book examines and develops the concept of authoritarian consolidation and then applies it to Maduro's Venezuela. Together with our contributors, we suggest a multicausal explanation for the consolidation of authoritarianism, with each chapter devoted to one of these plausible explanations.
162
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
I'm delighted that Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, the book I co-edited with Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí, has officially been published! It is available at in paperback, hardcover and eBook almost everywhere. See: www.routledge.com/Authoritaria...
routledge.com
Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro
Bringing together experts from across the social sciences, this volume examines the consolidation of authoritarianism in Venezuela under the government of Nicolás Maduro. Taking a comparative perspect...
12512
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Thank you, Heather, great work on your piece!
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Who knew?
110
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
In light of today's news, I'm reposting something that Charles Larratt-Smith and I wrote about TdA late last year: americasquarterly.org/article/how-...
americasquarterly.org
How Much of a Threat is Tren de Aragua in the U.S.?
The Venezuelan prison gang was a frequent theme in Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric on immigration. But its reach in the U.S. is exaggerated.
120
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
We've talked about this!
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Day 1 of my "Comparative Politics of Latin America" course:
030
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
The ongoing political and economic crisis in #Bolivia seems to have flown under the international radar. I wrote about what all of this likely means for the country's 2025 elections and beyond: www.gisreportsonline.com/r/bolivia-po...
gisreportsonline.com
Bolivia’s political chaos puts economy at risk – GIS Reports
Bolivia faces a confluence of political infighting, external pressures and the risk of economic collapse as the 2025 presidential election nears.
020
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
What a delightful present from colleague and friend Mike Kellermann! (Also, #IYKYK)
A red t-shirt with the words "Juan Linz was right" around the outline of the White House
1100
Reposted by John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉
No Suma Cero @nosumacero.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Researchers and experts in Latin America and Inter-American affairs. Investigadores y expertos en América Latina y en asuntos interamericanos. [Español - English - Português - Français] go.bsky.app/LnqWyHT
1107
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
The Los Angeles Times interviewed me about U.S.-Mexican and Chinese-Mexican relations in light of Trump's tariff proposals. (I thought I was just giving background, but they used the whole interview). www.latimes.com/world-nation...
latimes.com
Trump's tariffs brought China and Mexico closer. Will his second term change that?
China has strengthened trade with Latin America at the expense of the U.S. But Donald Trump, who threatens to raise tariffs on Mexico, could upend those ties.
041
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
"Consolidación".... hmmmmm
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Grateful to be quoted alongside some really smart people in this @tomphillips.bsky.social article about Nicolás Maduro assuming his third six-year term tomorrow. I sincerely hope that my pessimism is misplaced: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Venezuela tumbles deeper into dictatorship with Nicolás Maduro set to extend 12-year rule
Global democratic leaders pledge a boycott as exiled opposition leader vows to return to challenge ceremony
031
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Happy to share my commentary on next month's presidential election in #Ecuador in @The_Dialogue's Latin America Advisor (originally written on Dec 20): tinyurl.com/3vaje8az
000
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
I guess that's *one* important thing that happened on January 6
120
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
This reads like satire
110
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Charles Larratt-Smith and I wrote about the exaggerated threat of the Tren de Aragua in the U.S.: www.americasquarterly.org/article/how-...
americasquarterly.org
How Much of a Threat is Tren de Aragua in the U.S.?
The Venezuelan prison gang was a frequent theme in Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric on immigration. But its reach in the U.S. is exaggerated.
040
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
It appears that the EU and Mercosur/Mercosul have finally reached a trade deal. I wrote about the deal last month and what it would mean:
010
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Tal cual! Y esos académicos Llanos y Marsteintredet son obviamente brillantes.
120
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
South Korea! But, you know, presidentialism.
020
John Polga-Hecimovich 🧉 @jpolga.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Pedro Castillo to Yoon Suk Yeol
041