The Hudson Institute, a politically conservative non-profit American think tank founded in 1961, organized the June 18th event in Washington, DC. The panel included some of the latest thoughts from American conservative foreign policy experts on ongoing political crisis in Nicaragua and Venezuela. The Nicaraguan Minister of Education Humberto Belli, the veteran Editor-in-Chief of La Nación Armando Gonzales, and the one of the leaders of the Venezuelan Popular Will party David Smolansky Urosa participated in the event that was facilitated by moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Ambassador Jaime Daremblum. According to the event description:

Nicaragua and Venezuela have continued to regress into political and social repression, further abandoning the pretense of democracy and resorting instead to violations of human rights and assaults on civil society actors. President Daniel Ortega and President Nicolás Maduro have consolidated control over their countries’ media, military, and police forces, co-opting established institutions of government–or inventing new ones–to suit their needs and financially benefit their allies. In response, citizens of both countries are mobilizing more determined opposition in an effort to recover the freedoms they deserve.

On June 18, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the current political situation in Nicaragua and Venezuela. Participants included former The panel was .