Orlando J. Pérez
@perez1oj.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science @ University of North Texas at Dallas. Writing about Latin America, civil-military relations, democracy, security, and public opinion.
Traveling as much as time permits! 🌎✈️
Traveling as much as time permits! 🌎✈️
“For all the deadly weapons floating off the coast, it seems increasingly clear that all the Trump administration’s push for regime change in #Venezuela has done so far is create a potentially disastrous political trap.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o...
Opinion | I’m in Venezuela. This Is the True Cost of Trump’s Gunboat Diplomacy.
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
“For all the deadly weapons floating off the coast, it seems increasingly clear that all the Trump administration’s push for regime change in #Venezuela has done so far is create a potentially disastrous political trap.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o...
Regime change in #Venezuela isn’t a “weekend mission.” Any use of force has to reckon with coup-proofed security services, regional politics, and the costs of “the day after,” not just #Maduro. I unpack the military & political realities, @warontherocks.bsky.social warontherocks.com/2025/11/the-...
The Day After: What Successful Regime Change in Venezuela Would Really Take
What if the “counternarcotics” strikes against boats suspected of moving drugs aren’t really about cocaine at all, but about toppling Venezuelan President
warontherocks.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Regime change in #Venezuela isn’t a “weekend mission.” Any use of force has to reckon with coup-proofed security services, regional politics, and the costs of “the day after,” not just #Maduro. I unpack the military & political realities, @warontherocks.bsky.social warontherocks.com/2025/11/the-...
From Nepal to Mexico City, Gen Z keeps emerging as the real opposition: organized, furious, and unwilling to treat corruption and violence as background noise. Parties can try to ride this wave, but they did not create it and may not be able to control it.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Thousands protest crime and corruption in Mexico City as ‘Gen Z’ protests gain momentum
The demonstration was mostly peaceful but ended with some young people clashing with the police.
www.politico.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
From Nepal to Mexico City, Gen Z keeps emerging as the real opposition: organized, furious, and unwilling to treat corruption and violence as background noise. Parties can try to ride this wave, but they did not create it and may not be able to control it.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
It seems it’s dawning on some in DC that this #Venezuela adventure is more complex & the politics more difficult than saying: Maduro=bad; Machado=good; Tomahawks=coup->💨 democracy! @POTUS wanted to blow sh*t up, get a quick win & move on.The minute things got complicated he got cold feet. 🤷🏻♂️
November 7, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It seems it’s dawning on some in DC that this #Venezuela adventure is more complex & the politics more difficult than saying: Maduro=bad; Machado=good; Tomahawks=coup->💨 democracy! @POTUS wanted to blow sh*t up, get a quick win & move on.The minute things got complicated he got cold feet. 🤷🏻♂️
Thanks @QuincyInst @RStatecraft for publishing my piece on the risks of escalation in #Venezuela. “A wiser approach for Washington is to prioritize intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation with allies — rather than rely on … kinetic strikes.”
responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-venezu...
responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-venezu...
With Venezuela, Trump poised to make mistake of epic proportions
News that the administration may greenlight attacks inside the country, even remove Maduro, is already causing panic. It should.
responsiblestatecraft.org
November 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Thanks @QuincyInst @RStatecraft for publishing my piece on the risks of escalation in #Venezuela. “A wiser approach for Washington is to prioritize intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation with allies — rather than rely on … kinetic strikes.”
responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-venezu...
responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-venezu...
Why Blowing Up Venezuelan Boats Won’t Stop the Flow of Drugs www.nytimes.com/interactive/... I said something similar a few weeks ago! 🤔
October 12, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Why Blowing Up Venezuelan Boats Won’t Stop the Flow of Drugs www.nytimes.com/interactive/... I said something similar a few weeks ago! 🤔
I wrote in The Dallas Morning News: “Turning the armed forces toward specific domestic political targets breaches a core norm: an apolitical military. Latin American history is clear. Internal security missions make generals central actors in domestic governance.”
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
October 6, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I wrote in The Dallas Morning News: “Turning the armed forces toward specific domestic political targets breaches a core norm: an apolitical military. Latin American history is clear. Internal security missions make generals central actors in domestic governance.”
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Panama in China-US Strategic Competition thediplomat.com/2025/09/pana... "Suppose Panama can show that a sovereignty-first, rules-based posture unlocks U.S. and allied capital without foreclosing commercial ties to China."
Panama in China-US Strategic Competition
Insights from Orlando J. Pérez.
thediplomat.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Panama in China-US Strategic Competition thediplomat.com/2025/09/pana... "Suppose Panama can show that a sovereignty-first, rules-based posture unlocks U.S. and allied capital without foreclosing commercial ties to China."
Brazil Just Succeeded Where America Failed www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/o... “With all its flaws, Brazilian democracy is healthier today than America’s. Keenly aware of their country’s authoritarian past, Brazil’s judicial and political authorities did not take democracy for granted.”
Opinion | Brazil Just Succeeded Where America Failed
www.nytimes.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Brazil Just Succeeded Where America Failed www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/o... “With all its flaws, Brazilian democracy is healthier today than America’s. Keenly aware of their country’s authoritarian past, Brazil’s judicial and political authorities did not take democracy for granted.”
Reposted by Orlando J. Pérez
more than a decade of public scholarship has taught me that the moments when it's most tempting to react strongly and quickly are the ones when it's most useful to step back, seek context, and force yourself to think slowly. i don't always follow it, but those are my guidelines for myself.
September 10, 2025 at 9:09 PM
more than a decade of public scholarship has taught me that the moments when it's most tempting to react strongly and quickly are the ones when it's most useful to step back, seek context, and force yourself to think slowly. i don't always follow it, but those are my guidelines for myself.
Only Trump can make John Bolton seem sympathetic! 🙄
August 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Only Trump can make John Bolton seem sympathetic! 🙄
1/ The @deptofdefense.govmirrors.com is weighing a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force.” 600 Guard troops split between Alabama and Arizona, deployable in one hour. 🧵https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/12/national-guard-civil-unrest/
August 12, 2025 at 7:17 PM
1/ The @deptofdefense.govmirrors.com is weighing a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force.” 600 Guard troops split between Alabama and Arizona, deployable in one hour. 🧵https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/12/national-guard-civil-unrest/
Reposted by Orlando J. Pérez
One thing that didn't make it into today's piece:
Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.
Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.
August 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
One thing that didn't make it into today's piece:
Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.
Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.
Claims of a DC “crime wave” ignore the facts: violent crime is down ~26% this year, homicides down 12%, robberies down 28%. 2025 is on track for some of the lowest levels in decades. Fear sells—facts don’t! www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/i...
Is DC crime ‘totally out of control,' as Trump said? What the numbers show
President Donald Trump called D.C. crime “ridiculous” in remarks Wednesday in the Oval Office. He threatened to federalize the police department and even bring in National Guard troops. But Metropolit...
www.nbcwashington.com
August 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Claims of a DC “crime wave” ignore the facts: violent crime is down ~26% this year, homicides down 12%, robberies down 28%. 2025 is on track for some of the lowest levels in decades. Fear sells—facts don’t! www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/i...
The ghosts of Gaitán (1948), Galán (1989), and Gómez Hurtado (1995) still haunt #Colombia’s democracy. The assassination of presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is a stark reminder that democracy cannot thrive when bullets silence ballots.
August 11, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The ghosts of Gaitán (1948), Galán (1989), and Gómez Hurtado (1995) still haunt #Colombia’s democracy. The assassination of presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is a stark reminder that democracy cannot thrive when bullets silence ballots.
#ELSalvador today presents a conceptual paradox: Can a regime with overwhelming popular support still be a democracy in decline?
1⃣ Democracy requires more than just majority support at the ballot box. 🧵
1⃣ Democracy requires more than just majority support at the ballot box. 🧵
August 1, 2025 at 8:25 PM
#ELSalvador today presents a conceptual paradox: Can a regime with overwhelming popular support still be a democracy in decline?
1⃣ Democracy requires more than just majority support at the ballot box. 🧵
1⃣ Democracy requires more than just majority support at the ballot box. 🧵
The silence from @StateDept @SecRubio @WHAAsstSecty
about @nayibbukele’s move to eliminate any limits on presidential reelection is deafening! The US has now dropped even the pretense of caring about democracy in #ElSalvador. You cannot complain about some authoritarians while enabling others.
about @nayibbukele’s move to eliminate any limits on presidential reelection is deafening! The US has now dropped even the pretense of caring about democracy in #ElSalvador. You cannot complain about some authoritarians while enabling others.
August 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The silence from @StateDept @SecRubio @WHAAsstSecty
about @nayibbukele’s move to eliminate any limits on presidential reelection is deafening! The US has now dropped even the pretense of caring about democracy in #ElSalvador. You cannot complain about some authoritarians while enabling others.
about @nayibbukele’s move to eliminate any limits on presidential reelection is deafening! The US has now dropped even the pretense of caring about democracy in #ElSalvador. You cannot complain about some authoritarians while enabling others.
The Trump Administration is finding out that if you live by the crazies, you die by the crazies!
July 12, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The Trump Administration is finding out that if you live by the crazies, you die by the crazies!
“USAID has officially ceased operations.” The decision to dismantle USAID will compromise the country’s national security. This is the very definition of short-sightedness! We will come to realize this decision was unwise as China steps forward to fill the vacuum.
July 1, 2025 at 8:11 PM
“USAID has officially ceased operations.” The decision to dismantle USAID will compromise the country’s national security. This is the very definition of short-sightedness! We will come to realize this decision was unwise as China steps forward to fill the vacuum.
1️⃣ The deployment of active-duty military in a domestic security role is common in Latin America & the rest of the developing world. And is almost always a bad idea. It undermines legitimacy & professionalism of the armed forces and erodes institutional legitimacy. 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 11:26 PM
1️⃣ The deployment of active-duty military in a domestic security role is common in Latin America & the rest of the developing world. And is almost always a bad idea. It undermines legitimacy & professionalism of the armed forces and erodes institutional legitimacy. 🧵
How convenient: you spend billions getting Trump elected; your net worth balloons from your gov grift; you destroy good agencies like USAID; BUT, your reputation is shattered & your companies are trashed. So, now you hate Trump & we’re expected to love you again? 🤬 FU!
June 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
How convenient: you spend billions getting Trump elected; your net worth balloons from your gov grift; you destroy good agencies like USAID; BUT, your reputation is shattered & your companies are trashed. So, now you hate Trump & we’re expected to love you again? 🤬 FU!
To all colleagues who are teaching in the summer:
June 3, 2025 at 2:48 PM
To all colleagues who are teaching in the summer:
The Dallas Morning News published my op-ed on the upcoming judicial elections in #Mexico. Hint: A very bad idea. The Texas example of judicial elections is a nightmare & results in Mexico promise to be worse!
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Election of judges in Mexico would undermine judicial independence
The election of judges in Mexico will make the ruling party more powerful. Citizens will also vote on members of a disciplinary tribunal that will police...
www.dallasnews.com
May 25, 2025 at 7:02 PM
The Dallas Morning News published my op-ed on the upcoming judicial elections in #Mexico. Hint: A very bad idea. The Texas example of judicial elections is a nightmare & results in Mexico promise to be worse!
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
1/ Let's be clear: POTUS & the US government are complicit in #RuthLopez's arrest & violation of human rights. By financing #Bukele's prison state & praising Bukele's harsh policies, #Trump has empowered the #Salvadoran dictator to deepen his authoritarian policies. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/w... 🧵
Prominent Anti-Corruption Lawyer Is Arrested in El Salvador
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2025 at 10:58 PM
1/ Let's be clear: POTUS & the US government are complicit in #RuthLopez's arrest & violation of human rights. By financing #Bukele's prison state & praising Bukele's harsh policies, #Trump has empowered the #Salvadoran dictator to deepen his authoritarian policies. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/w... 🧵