Mexico-U.S. relations, organized crime, immigration, border security, and human trafficking
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera (Ph.D. in Political Science, The New School for Social Research) is Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. Her areas of expertise are Mexico-U.S. relations, organized crime, immigration, border security, and human trafficking. Her newest book is titled Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporations, Energy, and Civil War in Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2017). She was recently the Principal Investigator of a research grant to study organized crime and trafficking in persons in Central America and along Mexico’s eastern migration routes, supported by the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. She is now working on a new book project that analyzes the main political, cultural, and ideological aspects of Mexican irregular immigration in the United States entitled Los Trabajadores “Ilegales” Mexicanos en los Estados Unidos: A Human Problem. Dr. Correa-Cabrera is currently the President of the Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS). She is also Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Non-resident Scholar at the Baker Institute’s Mexico Center (Rice University).
Research Projects:
Participant in the project “The Future of U.S.-Mexico Relations” (organized by Rice University’s Baker Institute Mexico Center); Spring 2018-Spring 2019.
Individual project: “The future of the U.S.-Mexico Border (with Jason Ackleson)
Participant in the project on “Binational Institutional Development on the U.S.-Mexico Border” (organized by Rice University’s Baker Institute Mexico Center); Spring 2017-Spring 2018.
Individual project: “Law Enforcement Security Cooperation on the U.S.-Mexico Border (with Alan Bersin and Evan McCormick)
Books/Works in Progress:
Book manuscript: Los Trabajadores “Ilegales” Mexicanos en Los Estados Unidos: A Human Problem
Book manuscript (coauthored with Tony Payan): The Bird’s Eye View: An Elitist Analysis of Mexico’s 2006-2012 Security Strategy
Edited volume (co-edited with Victor Konrad): North American Borders in Comparative Perspective: Re-Bordering Canada, The United States of America and Mexico in the 21st Century.
Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporation, Energy and Civil War in Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press (2017).
Democracy in “Two Mexicos”: Political Institutions in Oaxaca and Nuevo León. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2013).
Non-resident Scholar, Mexico Center, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University (2017-2019)
Expert in the areas of Mexico-U.S. relations, organized crime, immigration, border security and human trafficking (October 1, 2017-September 30, 2019)
Woodrow Wilson Center Global Fellow (2017-2019)
Latin American Program (August 2017-July 2019)
2017-2018 Herman Brown Distinguished Scholar, Texas Christian University (TCU).
Woodrow Wilson Center Residential Fellowship (2016-2017)
Project: “Trafficking in Persons, Irregular Immigration and Transnational Organized Crime in Central America and Mexico” (September 2016-July 2017).
Principal Investigator: FY 2014 International Programs to Combat Trafficking in Persons Grant
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State
Project: “Trafficking in Persons along Mexico’s Eastern Migration Routes: The Role of Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations”
$200,000.00 (18 months, starting April 2015)
*** 2015 Emerging Scholar of the Year Award; by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
Research fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin) - Desigualdades.net project (June–August 2013)
Drugs, Security and Democracy (DSD) Post-doctoral Fellowship (August 2011-July 2012)
FULBRIGHT Fellowship (Sep 2000-May 2002)
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) Scholarship (Fall 2000–August 2006)
New School for Social Research Dissertation Fellowship (2003-2004)
New School for Social Research Graduate Teaching Fellowship (2003-2004)
New School for Social Research Tuition Scholarship (Fall 2000 - Fall 2003)
Janey Program for Latin American Studies Summer Grant (Summer 2004)
2002 Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (TCDS) New Social Science Training Fellowship (September-December 2002)
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Latin American Politics
American Hispanic Politics
American Government and Policy
Global Borders in Comparative Perspective
Seminar in International and Development Policy and Management (Graduate)
International and Comparative Public Policy and Management (Graduate)
United States-Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Relations (Graduate)
Public Policies in the Mexico-U.S. Border Region (Graduate)
U.S.-Mexico Border Policy (Graduate)
1. New School for Social Research/The New School; New York, NY
Political Science Department
Ph.D. in Political Science; January 2010.
Major Field: Comparative Politics (passed Field Exam with Honors)
Minor Field: American Politics
Ph.D. Dissertation Title:
DEMOCRACY IN "TWO MEXICOS": Political Exclusion, Economic Exclusion, and (Un)civil Modes of Political Action in Oaxaca and Nuevo León
2. New School for Social Research/The New School; New York, NY
Political Science Department
M.Phil. in Political Science; January 2005.
M.A. in Political Science; May 2002.
Area of Specialization: Comparative Politics
3. Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA); Mexico City
Department of Economics
B.A. in Economics (Licenciatura en Economía); December 1997.
Area of Specialization: Macroeconomics (Field of interest: International Economics)
B.A. Thesis: “Desarrollo Financiero y Crecimiento Económico: Teoría y Evidencia Empírica para Países en Desarrollo” (Financial Development and Economic Growth: Theory and Empirical Evidence for Developing Countries)
Degree with honors: Honorific Mention (Mención Honorífica)
Keynote presentations and featured lectures
“The Spectacle of US-Mexico Border Security: Drugs, Immigration, and Political Rhetoric in the Trump Era.” The Herman Brown Distinguished Scholar Lecture, Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas; February 5, 2018).
“Delincuencia Organizada en Centroamérica y las Fronteras. Un Problema de Seguridad Regional." Keynote speaker at the opening of the Master’s Program in Hemispheric Security 2018 - Mexico’s Federal Police (Mexico City; January 12, 2018).
“The History of U.S-Mexico Border Security Cooperation: From “Distant Neighbors” to Partners.” Keynote speaker at the Second International Conference on Border Studies (Brownsville, Texas; October 27, 2017).
“Riesgos de la Inversión Empresarial Transfronteriza México-Estados Unidos.” Keynote speaker at the 3rd International Congress: Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, and Competitiveness, Instituto Tecnológico de la Paz (La Paz, Baja California Sur; May 2-4, 2017).
“The Future of U.S.-Mexico Relations.” Featured speaker at the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University (Washington, DC; February 22, 2017).
“Right-Wing Populism and the Future of Mexico-U.S. Border Relations.” Featured speaker at the Centre for Border Region Studies of Southern Denmark University (Sønderborg, Denmark; February 16, 2017).
“Challenges and Opportunities in United States-Mexico Relations.” Featured speaker at the the Kozmetsky Center of St. Edwards University (Austin, Texas; February 8, 2017).
Academic conferences
“Trafficking of Migrants and Organized Crime in Central America, Mexico and the U.S.” Participant in the panel “Borders and Migration in a Trump Presidency.” Colloque International, Observatoire sur les États-Unis: Trump: l'an un; Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) (Montreal, Canada; November 9, 2017).
“Trafficking of Migrants and Organized Crime: A Dangerous Journey to the United States.” Paper presented at the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA) (San Francisco, CA; August 31-September 3, 2017).
“The Southeastern US border with Mexico under the Donald J. Trump’s presidency. How will border security interact?” Paper presented at the 59th Annual Conference of the Association for Borderland Studies (ABS) (San Francisco, California; April 12-15, 2017).
Public presentations
Participation in the panel “¿Guerra o Paz?: Drogas, Migración y Crimen Organizado.” International Conference: “Democracia y Autoritarismo en México y el Mundo, de Cara a las Elecciones de 2018,” organized by Diálogos por la Democracia UNAM (Mexico City; February 14-16, 2018).
“Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and Central America: Corruption, Migration and Drugs.” Participant in the closing panel of the Master’s Program in Hemispheric Security - Mexico’s Federal Police (Mexico City; December 4, 2017).
Participation in the panel “The Challenges of Crossing Borders: Derechos Humanos y Aspectos Humanitarios de la Transmigración.” International Conference on migration in The Americas: “The Americas in Movement, Coping with Migration,” organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (Mexico City; December 1, 2017).
Participation in the event “Security in Mexico” (with Genaro Garcia Luna, former secretary of public safety of Mexico, and Tony Payan). Baker Institute’s Mexico Center, Rice University (Houston, Texas; November 20, 2017).
Book signing and presentation of Los Zetas Inc. Participant in the panel “Inside the Cartels: Organized Crime Across the Border” (with Hipólito Acosta, Melissa del Bosque, and Ricardo C. Ainslie); C-Span2/Book TV Tent, Texas Book Festival (Austin, Texas; November 4, 2017).
“Law Enforcement Security Cooperation on the U.S.-Mexico Border” (co-authored with Alan Bersin). Author Workshop – Binational Institutional Development on the U.S.-Mexico Border; Baker Institute’s Mexico Center, Rice University (Houston, Texas; October 26, 2017).
“Perpetual Resistance and Violence in Latin America.” Official Launch Hemisphere 2017. Participant in the panel discussion (Washington, DC; September 21, 2017).
“Central American Migration Push/Pull Factors: What Changes May be Underway? What are their Implications?” Participant in Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Roundtable (Washington, DC; September 19, 2017).
“Trata de Personas, Crimen Organizado y Migración en los Principales Destinos Turísticos de la Península de Yucatán. El Caso de Cancún y Zonas Aledañas de Gran Turismo, México.” Featured speaker at the International Congress on “Fighting Trafficking in Persons and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Teenagers related to Travel and Tourism,” organized by the General Directorate of Migration and Foreign Affairs and the Costa Rican Tourism Board (San José, Costa Rica; September 12-14, 2017).
Participant in the panel “Structure of Cartels and Gangs and their Impact on Commerce.” Southeast Analysts Roundtable (SEAR) Summer Meeting (Houston, Texas; July 19, 2017).
“Human Trafficking in the Americas: The Cases of Mexico and Central America.” Public lecture at the course on Western Hemisphere Intensive Regional Studies. Foreign Service Institute (Washington, DC; April 20, 2017).
Participant in the panel “Corruption and Security in Latin America.” OMNIA’s “II Summit for Latin-American Public Policy Students” (Georgetown University and Organization of American States, Washington, DC; April 1, 2017).
Participant in the panel on “Drivers and Causes of Forced Migration and Immigration.” Emerging Global Issues Forum on “Forced Migration, Immigration, and Security,” organized by the Global Studies Institute and Georgia State University (Atlanta, Georgia; March 30, 2017).
Participant in the panel on “Human Trafficking.” 2017 Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Leadership Conference and HIPGiver Gala (San Francisco, California; March 23, 2017).
“Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and Central America.” Participant in the panel: “Crime, Corruption and Citizen Security.” Western Hemisphere Leadership Seminar for Mid-Level Officers, Foreign Service Institute (Washington, DC; March 21, 2017).
“Trafficking in Persons in Central America and Along Mexico's Eastern Migration Routes: The Role of Transnational Criminal Organizations.” Presentation of report and participant in the panel: “Migration, Trafficking, and Organized Crime in Central America, Mexico, and the United States,” organized by the Woodrow Wilson Center (Washington, DC; March 1, 2017).
Commentator and participant in the U.S.-Japan Research Institute (USJI) Policy Forum: “Asia and the World as Seen by Border Studies: Implications for US-Japan Relations” (Washington, DC; February 28, 2017).
“Mexico’s Current Situation and Recent Developments.” Featured speaker at the conference: “Drug Trafficking in Latin America: A Case Study on Colombia and Mexico. Lessons, Successes, and Challenges Ahead,” organized at Georgetown University (Washington, DC; February 10, 2017).
“Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Prevention and Migration.” Participation in the panel to comment a study by the World Bank entitled “Stop the Violence in Latin America: A Look at Prevention from Cradle to Adulthood,” organized by the World Bank and the Woodrow Wilson Center (Washington, DC; February 7, 2017).
“The Current State of U.S. Mexico Security Cooperation and Future Prospects: The Case of Tamaulipas.” Featured speaker at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute annual conference: “The State of Security in Mexico: Why are Homicides Increasing? How to Reduce the Violence” (Washington, DC; February 3, 2017).
Quoted and cited frequently in national and international news media on the topics of Mexican politics, U.S-Mexico relations, U.S.-Mexico border relations, and particularly on drug trafficking issues and drug violence in Mexico. Among these media sources are: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, El País, NPR, BBC World News, and C-SPAN Washington Journal.
Op. eds. and articles on current political and public policy issues in: Univision, Newsweek (in Spanish), Houston Chronicle (the Baker Institute Viewpoints series); Latin America Advisor (Inter-American Dialogue); the Association for Borderlands Studies newsletter La Frontera; Borderzine (University of Texas at El Paso), among others.