The Channel City Club

Santa Barbara’s Window on the World

Join us as we host Dr. Richard Downie on Thursday April 30th, 2026, from 3:15 - 5:30 pm at the University Club of Santa Barbara for a briefing on:​

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Dictators & Dependency: Unraveling the Havana-Caracas Alliance

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​The Channel City Club is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard Downie for an essential briefing on the symbiotic and high-stakes relationship between Cuba and Venezuela—two nations whose fates have become inextricably linked.

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As a retired U.S. Army Colonel and former Director of the Department of Defense's Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, and former Commander of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Dr. Downie brings an important strategic perspective to our members. With a Ph.D. from USC and a career spent at the highest levels of Hemispheric defense, he is uniquely qualified to explain how these two regimes sustained one another through an exchange of oil, intelligence, and ideological survival tactics.

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Why this briefing is vital: The connection between Havana and Caracas was not just a regional alliance; it was a geopolitical "lifeline" that challenged stability across the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Downie will explore:

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• The Strategic Exchange: How Venezuelan oil fueled the Cuban economy while Cuban intelligence and security personnel provided the "Praetorian Guard" for both the Chavez and Maduro regimes.
   

• The "Crucible" of Democracy: The internal and external pressures now pushing Cuba toward a breaking point and possible US control over the Island.
   

• Global Implications: How the US Administration’s new “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine will impact Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence in our hemisphere.
   

Join us as Dr. Downie talks us through the "Post-Chávez" reality and what the future holds for US national security and influence in the region.

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Get tickets below:

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