CUSLAR

The Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR) works for peace, justice, and greater mutual understanding in U.S.-Latin American relations through education, solidarity and support of human rights. CUSLAR supports the right of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean to self-determination, and supports their efforts to free themselves from a legacy of colonialism, exploitation, and oppression.

The Problem

Many want to make a difference or make change in some way, be it in economic, political, environmental or cultural spheres, on the level of neighborhoods or at the level of policy. However, the general public and policymakers alike have difficulty making sense of increasingly complicated realities in the hemisphere.

The Strategy

CUSLAR is a Cornell-University based educational organization that brings together students, researchers and social movement leaders from around the Americas to grapple with pressing issues. Different constituencies learn from each other, drawing lessons from history and current events to inform social action.

The Team

CUSLAR Coordinator

Jorge DeFendini is a political campaigner and community organizer living in the city of Ithaca. From 2022-23, he served on the Ithaca City Council, representing the 4th Ward, where he worked to enact more tenant protections and incur a greater investment into the city from Cornell University. He is the son of Puerto Rican parents with ancestry throughout the Caribbean. He graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a bachelor’s in Government and American Studies and a minor in Latino/a Studies. While at Cornell, Jorge wrote and researched extensively on US-Latin American relations, particularly on the impact of US-intervention in Latin American affairs during and following the Cold War. He is currently involved in coalition work around Latin American issues, including organizing to end the embargo on Cuba and fighting for Puerto Rican self-determination. He was born and raised in Queens, New York.

CUSLAR Advisory Board

The CUSLAR Advisory Board is made up of Ithaca-based community members, many of whom have affiliations at Cornell University, Ithaca College and Syracuse University.

• Sally Wessels
• Mary Jo Dudley
• Alicia Swords
• Pamela Sertzen Leon

• Enrique Gonzalez-Conty

  CUSLAR Students

  Undergraduate and graduate students are the backbone of CUSLAR and have been for over half a century. Students can have a range of affiliations with the organization, ranging from membership in the CUSLAR Student Club to volunteers to work-study interns. CUSLAR has students from Cornell University, Ithaca College and Elmira College.

  Contact information

Jorge DeFendini
cuslar@cornell.edu
607-255-7293