Miami Connection
As a faculty member at FIU, Cruz brings extensive expertise on Latin American security and violence issues to Miami's academic and policy discussions. His directorship of the Center for the Administration of Justice and research position at the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center position him as a leading voice on regional crime and gang-related policy issues affecting South Florida's diverse immigrant communities.
About
José Miguel Cruz holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University, a Master's degree in Public Policy from Oxford University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Central America in San Salvador. He is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, where he also directs the Center for the Administration of Justice. Previously, he served as director of the Institute for Public Opinion (IUDOP) at the University of Central America from 1993 to 2006 and as research director at FIU's Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center. His research focuses on criminal violence, gangs, policing, democratization, and migration patterns throughout Central America and the Caribbean region.