The Global Liberty Alliance Podcast with Jason Poblete

Jason Poblete

The Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) is a legal and public policy NGO in the United States dedicated to strengthening fundamental individual rights, free enterprise, and the rule of law. Stand for liberty and the rule of law. Invest in GLA today! To sign up for the podcast emails, please visit this page: http://eepurl.com/g0xh7f Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support read less
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Episodes

Freedom After Captivity: Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert's Journey
Jan 30 2024
Freedom After Captivity: Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert's Journey
In this compelling episode of the Global Liberty Alliance Podcast, host Jason Poblete is joined by Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian academic who endured a harrowing experience as a hostage in Iran. Now released and reclaiming her freedom, Dr. Moore-Gilbert shares her profound insights and the details of her ordeal. Her book, The Uncaged Sky, 804 Days In an Iranian Prison, is available on Amazon. This conversation delves deep into her newly published book, where she vividly recounts her experiences and the mental, emotional, and physical challenges she faced during her captivity. Dr. Moore-Gilbert opens up about the darkest moments of her imprisonment and the resilience she mustered to survive. Listeners will also get a glimpse into her life post-release. Dr. Moore-Gilbert discusses her current endeavors, her advocacy for other unjustly detained individuals, and how her experience has reshaped her perspective on life and liberty. Kylie's story is not just a story of survival; it's a testament to the human spirit's indomitable will to overcome the most daunting circumstances. Join us for a journey of courage, hope, and the relentless pursuit of freedom. Tune in to the Global Liberty Alliance Podcast for this inspiring and eye-opening episode with Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
Iran and Transnational Terror: The Matter of Jimmy Sharmahd from California
Jan 10 2024
Iran and Transnational Terror: The Matter of Jimmy Sharmahd from California
In the upcoming episode of the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) podcast with Jason Poblete, we confront a significant discrepancy in the Biden administration's announcement last year. The administration declared the release of all Americans detained in Iran, implying a complete return of all Americans and U.S. nationals held hostage in Iran. This statement, however, was not entirely accurate - in fact, it was incorrect. GLA has asked Congress to conduct oversight on this matter. The release excluded several Americans and U.S. nationals, including Jimmy Sharmahd from California and Shahab Dalili from Virginia. The Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) has identified additional cases of unjust imprisonment or hostage situations in Iran, underscoring the gravity of the issue. In this episode, we feature a discussion with Jimmy’s daughter, Gazelle. Jason and Gazelle delve into efforts to facilitate Jimmy's release. This conversation raises pressing questions: Why was Jimmy Sharmahd, among others, left behind? Are more Americans and U.S. nationals detained abroad facing similar neglect? We also ponder on how America can improve its response to such situations. Additionally, the broader implications of these cases on all Americans are explored. Tune in as we strive to uncover truths, navigate the intricacies of these international diplomatic challenges, and discuss actionable steps you can take to make a difference. Join us in this enlightening journey for answers and awareness. Additional Reading GLA Sharmahd Matter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
Unveiling Injustice: The Plight of Cuban Healthcare Professionals in Uruguay
Dec 26 2023
Unveiling Injustice: The Plight of Cuban Healthcare Professionals in Uruguay
(SPANISH EPISODE) In this compelling episode of the Global Liberty Alliance podcast, host Jason Poblete and special guest Uruguayan lawyer Sabrina Pelaez dive into one of GLA's high-profile cases: the trafficking of Cuban healthcare professionals in Uruguay. They discuss these individuals' disturbing realities and broader implications for global health and human rights. Poblete and Pelaez provide insight into the complex legal, human rights, and ethical issues at play while also detailing how the Global Liberty Alliance's relentless efforts exposed the illegal network behind this trafficking. Utilizing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws in Uruguay and engaging in administrative and criminal legal procedures, GLA has brought to light the mechanisms of this exploitation, paving the way for policy changes and legal remedies. This episode highlights the plight of Cuban healthcare workers and sheds light on the power of legal advocacy in combatting human rights abuses. Listeners will leave with a deeper understanding of the challenges in this fight and the critical role organizations like GLA play in advocating for justice and human dignity, advancing US national interests one case at a time. If you want to learn about the program discussed in this episode, please follow this link to GLA's Uruguay page. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
The Great Purge in Nicaragua
Apr 11 2023
The Great Purge in Nicaragua
Nicaragua remains under the control and authoritarian rule of Daniel Ortega and his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. The government has a long and well-documented record of violating fundamental human rights, censoring free speech, and suppressing political opposition. A staunch ally of Russia and Communist China, Nicaragua, with Cuba's assistance, continues to undermine U.S. national and security interests in the region quietly. Religious freedom is an essential indicator of democracy because it reflects the principles of individual liberty and equality before the law, which are fundamental to democratic societies. When individuals are free to practice their religion or belief system without fear of persecution or discrimination, it is a sign that the government is respecting their fundamental human rights and upholding the rule of law. In August 2020, we ⁠recorded a podcast⁠ with a Nicaragua priest about religious persecution in Nicaragua, especially toward Catholics and other Christians. Close to three years later, the situation is not surprisingly any better; it's worse. Biden administration officials recently announced the release of over 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua. A well-known Nicaraguan Catholic Bishop was also released, but he decided to stay in jail. Why? This podcast explores and discusses these issues with Roberto Bendaña from Texas. A Nicaraguan American, Roberto is persona non grata in Nicaragua and is not allowed to visit his ancestral homeland because of his staunch defense of liberty and fundamental rights. Roberto, a businessman and political activist, seeks solutions to help both nations chart a new way forward without Sandinista rule. Further Reading 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: NicaraguaNicaragua in Political Limbo, America Can Help, Jason Poblete's substack (Apr. 2, 2022)"Inestabilidad democrática en Nicaragua no ayuda a nadie en el hemisferio," La Prensa newspaper (Dec. 21, 2017). --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
How the FBI Helped Nab the Notorious Spy some have called the "Queen of Cuba"
Jan 24 2023
How the FBI Helped Nab the Notorious Spy some have called the "Queen of Cuba"
A retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, Mr. Pete Lapp served over two decades in the FBI and is highly experienced in counterintelligence, espionage, economic espionage, and trade secret theft. In this podcast, GLA's Jason Poblete talks with Mr. Lapp about one of his more high-profile cases,  the espionage investigation of Ana Belen Montes, who was arrested ten days after 9/11/2001.  Montes was sentenced to 25 years for spying for the Cuban Intelligence Service while she worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency. On January 6, 2023, Montes was in the headlines again because she had been released and had reportedly returned to Puerto Rico to live with her sister.  Mr. Lapp has worked on many other national security cases.  In October 2021, Pete founded PJ Lapp Consulting, LLC, where he now focuses his vast knowledge and experience in counterintelligence and insider risk (IR); He is a widely recognized expert and thought leader in the area of IR. You can learn more about his practice by visiting his website.  Further Reading Pre-Order Pete's book, "Queen of Cuba: An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years" (Oct. 2023)."Just 10 days after the attacks of 9/11, the FBI arrested a 44-year-old woman named Ana Belen Montes," (FBI).Review of the Actions Taken to Deter, Detect and Investigate the Espionage Activities of Ana Belen Montes (U) Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense (Jun. 16, 2005). --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
A Talk with Michela Wrong About International Criminal Justice and Human Rights
Jan 10 2023
A Talk with Michela Wrong About International Criminal Justice and Human Rights
The Biden administration and Congress have discussed accountability efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But is the international system ready to hold all parties accountable, or will the process set back the course of international justice efforts? In this episode, Jason Poblete talks with Michela Wrong, an award-winning British journalist and author who has had a rich career that has taken her from the fashion runways of Paris and later as a foreign correspondent in Africa for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism “that combined moral vision and professional integrity.” As she details on her website, her fifth book, “Do Not Disturb,” published in 2021, is a damning portrait of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, from its days as a united band of rebel fighters to today’s era, in which killer squads are dispatched across the world to silence exiled former insiders. The book has prompted a vitriolic backlash on Rwanda’s government-controlled social media, and President Paul Kagame has denounced the author on national television as a foreign agent. Jason and Michela talk about several aspects of international justice. They also discuss the case of eight Rwandan men tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; 4 were acquitted, while the other 4 served their sentences. They are now in legal limbo as they seek to be reunited with loved ones.  In addition, they also talk about unfinished accountability efforts related to the Rwandan genocide.  Be sure to check out her latest book on the Rwanda genocide, link below, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad." “A withering assault on the murderous Rwandan regime of Paul Kagame, and a melancholy love song to the lost dreams of the nations of Africa’s Great Lakes. Michela Wrong proves once again that she is an intrepid and highly professional researcher of the subject she knows best. It’s a major accomplishment, very driven, very impassioned.” ―JOHN LE CARRÉ, best-selling author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Further Reading "Where the international justice system fails; As war crimes investigators gather evidence in Ukraine, Michela Wrong looks at how the uncertain fate of eight Rwandan men reveals failures in the international justice system," Prospect (Dec. 8. 2022)."Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad," Michela Wrong (March 30, 2021)."I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation," Michela Wrong (June 6, 2006).  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
Pushing the Political Envelope in the Cuban-American Community, Talks with Cuba
Dec 6 2022
Pushing the Political Envelope in the Cuban-American Community, Talks with Cuba
In this podcast, GLA's Jason Poblete speaks with former Ambassador Martin Palouš.  Martin is currently a Senior Fellow at Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and Director of the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy. Palouš was part of the movement that helped end the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe during the Cold War.  The defense of fundamental individual and human rights has been at the core of his playbook ever since.  Born in Prague on October 14, 1950, Palouš studied Natural Science, Philosophy, and International Law, and he has engaged in rich academic praxis for more than 25 years.  He was one of the first signatories of Charter 77 in defense of human rights and served as spokesman for the dissident human rights group.  Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members included a wide range of civil society leaders at the time, including Martin and the future President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. Their work and that of other civil society leaders supported by the U.S. laid a foundation for President Ronald Reagan's push to end the Cold War.  Palouš went on to have a rewarding career in international law and foreign affairs, including being elected to the Czechoslovakian Federal Assembly and a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee. Later he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the newly formed Czech Republic and was then asked by President Václav Havel to travel to Washington, D.C. as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the United States from September 2002 to November 2005. Dr. Palouš was designated as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, where he served in New York from 2006 through 2010. On November 19, 2022, Palouš said in an op-ed that ran in the Miami Herald that he disagreed with the view held by many in the Cuban diaspora that there "cannot be any dialogue with the current Cuban government as long as it pursues policies of systematic violations of human rights and imprisons and persecutes the members of Cuban democratic opposition." He also said, "I’ve always defended human rights and the bravery of those who oppose the Cuban regime, and I’ve had the mettle to act on my convictions as a dissident." What keeps these two communities apart? And why should the American taxpayer care about this? Further Reading Publications and other resources for Martin Palouš"The Road to Freedom Grounded in the Rule of Law," a paper published by the FIU School of International and Public Affairs, Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy, prepared in collaboration with the Global Liberty Alliance (2022).La Patria es de Todos - The Nation Belongs to All of Us (1997).Jason Poblete and Jamie Suchlicki, “When Should the U.S. Change Policy Toward Cuba,” Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, Cuba Brief, August 13, 2007 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
A Family's Justice Journey - Holding Lebanon to Account for the Death of an American, Amer Fakhoury
Nov 15 2022
A Family's Justice Journey - Holding Lebanon to Account for the Death of an American, Amer Fakhoury
At times, we are called to do the most extraordinary things at the most challenging moments in life. That is the story of one American family in New Hampshire, the Fakhoury family. In August 2020, the Fakhoury family said goodbye to their beloved, Amer, who died as a result of injuries that he sustained while in the custody of Lebanon's corrupt security services or Lebanon's equivalent of our CIA and FBI wrapped up in one. During the course of the last two years, the family has set out to find out what happened to Amer, and start their justice journey to ensure that this never happens again to Americans or US nationals who travel abroad to Lebanon or to other nations. The Fakhoury family started a foundation, filed a lawsuit in the District Court of the District of Columbia, and has engaged in other advocacy efforts including with Congress. Last week the Global Liberty Alliance co-signed an open letter with the Fakhoury Foundation urging U.S. officials to fully enforce the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act in the matter of Amer Fakhoury.  Further Reading The Fakhoury FoundationLink to the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act GLA statement; GLA co-signed a letter with the Fakhoury Foundation (Nov. 10, 2022)US Treasury, Guidance on Hostages and Wrongfully Detained U.S. Nationals Sanctions  ---- If you want to help defend the fundamental rights of Americans, free enterprise, and the rule of law, consider donating to the Global Liberty Alliance. GLA is also accepting Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Follow this link to learn more! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support
A Political Re-Awakening in Paraguay: Defending Fundamental Rights of Children, Religious Freedom
Nov 8 2022
A Political Re-Awakening in Paraguay: Defending Fundamental Rights of Children, Religious Freedom
A nation of about seven million people, Paraguay is slightly smaller than California and an important U.S. ally in South America for trade and national security issues, including terrorism, transnational crime, and related matters. Since 2019 American taxpayers have sent close to $85 million in foreign assistance to Paraguay. It may seem like a nominal amount, at least when compared to the total U.S. federal budget. And perhaps to folks in Washington, DC, it may seem like nothing when it comes to our money, but these foreign aid programs add up in tough economic times. Some of that money is invested in worthwhile programs in the US national interest, but some are not. Who is minding the store and doing oversight? It is supposed to be the Congress, yet as we learn on this podcast with a leading lawyer and civil society leader in Paraguay, Valeria Insfran, some of our tax dollars are being used in ways that she thinks to undermine the rule of law, Paraguayan sovereignty, and US interests too. Valeria has been on the front lines of a fundamental rights battle involving children and families in her country. Jason and Valeria touch on a wide range of issues, including the Sao Paolo Forum, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Princeton Pact (see link below), and more recent events, including sanctioning by the Biden administration of a former Paraguay President and his family (calling into question again, the politicization of U.S. sanctions programs in Latin America – Guatemala was the other). At the request of listeners, this particular podcast was recorded in Spanish as part of a series to reach liberty warriors in the Americas. We will record an English version of this podcast, hopefully soon. There was a lot to unpack in this program, and we have asked Valeria to return, and she has agreed. Further Reading US foreign assistance to Paraguay (link)Paraguay country information (State Department)Red Ciudadana por la Niñez y la Adolescencia (foundation link)"El pacto de Princeton, una alianza para la miseria y el sometimiento," Valeria Insfran, El Instituto de Investigación Social SolidaridadGLA Podcast with Guatemala Attorney GeneralGLA Podcast with the President of Guatemala  Designation of Former Paraguayan President Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara for Involvement in Significant Corruption, State Department (Jul. 22, 2022) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/global-liberty-alliance/support