Maurício Vieira is assistant professor and coordinator of the Chair on Combating Illicit Trade and Preventing Transnational Organized Crime at the University for Peace. He holds a PhD in International Politics and Conflict Resolution from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) where he was awarded a scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). He is a member of the Global Initiative Experts Network and an associate researcher at the Observatory of Nationalities and the Laboratory of Conflict and Violence Studies at the University of the State of Ceará, Brazil.

During his doctoral research, Maurício was awarded a Fellowship from the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, USA, assumed positions as Visiting Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway, at the Centre for Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding of the Graduate Institute, Switzerland, and at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University for Peace, Costa Rica. Maurício has research experience at the Permanent Missions of Brazil to the United Nations in New York and Geneva. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations, with specialisation in Peace and Security Studies (University of Coimbra), a post-graduate degree (Specialist) in International Law and a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Fortaleza, Brazil. His research interests are peacebuilding, constructivism, decision making, transnational organized crime, and state fragility.

Victoria Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo is a conflict and stabilisation advisor in the UK's Office for Conflict, Stabilisation & Mediation (OCSM) in the UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. Victoria recently delivered a cross-government conflict analysis for the British Embassy in Bogotá and previously worked as an advisor tackling serious and organised crime in Latin America, with a specific focus on Colombia.

Lucía Dammert is a distinguished professor at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, renowned for her expertise in various areas of social research. Her scholarly pursuits include urban violence, urban inequality, police reform, community participation, and the intersection of crime and public policy across Latin America. Her extensive body of work is marked by numerous books and publications in prestigious international journals.

In addition to her academic contributions, Lucía Dammert has played pivotal roles in advisory positions of significant impact. Notably, she served as Chief of Advisors to the President of Chile from March to October 2022, providing invaluable insights and guidance. On the global stage, she made substantial contributions as a member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 2017 to 2021. Furthermore, her intellectual influence extended as she held the esteemed position of Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars from 2013 to 2020. Lucía Dammert's distinguished career and multifaceted expertise continue to shape academic and policy discussions at both national and international levels.

Chris Dalby is the founding director of World of Crime, a consultancy based in the Netherlands that brings a solutions-focused approach to the study of transnational organised crime. He is the author of the World of Crime Guide to the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG), to be published in April 2024.

Cris has previously served as the managing editor of InSight Crime, the leading think tank, for five years. He was also a foreign correspondent in Mexico, Brazil, China and Malaysia.

Fausto Carbajal Glass is founder and principal of Delphi Solutions and Strategic Services, a consultancy, research, education and writing firm based in Mexico City, concentrating on political risk and security dynamics in the Americas. He holds a BA in International Relations from Universidad Iberoamericana, a Master's degree in War Studies from King’s College London. He also completed the Strategy and Defence Policy course at the William J. Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies.

He has worked for the Mexican government, particularly for the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs. Among other affiliations, he is senior fellow at the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), senior research fellow at the Mexico Research Centre for Peace (CIPMEX) and expert member of the Urban Violence Research Network (UVRN), the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC-RUSI), the European Consortium for Political Research – Standing Group on Organised Crime (ECPR-SGOC), and the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF). He also served as non-resident fellow of the Mexican Navy Institute for Strategic Research (ININVESTAM).

His analyses on the crime-conflict compound, the conflict-security-development nexus and the impact of the US-China strategic competition over the Western Hemisphere’s security trends have appeared in policy papers, academic publications and newspapers.