Beatriz Zepeda, is a professor-researcher at the Center for International Studies at El Colegio de México, Mexico. She holds a PhD in Ethnicity and Nationalism and an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. From 2012 to 2014 she was director of FLACSO-Guatemala. She has lectured on International Relations at universities in England, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Her research focuses on the Mexico-Guatemala border, illegal markets, nationalism, migration, and foreign policy.

Fernando Carrión Mena, is Emeritus Professor at FLACSO-Ecuador. He has dedicated his life to the study of urbanization process, cultural heritage, violence, security, and drug trafficking. He was director of planning for the Municipality of Quito (1988-1992), general coordinator of RED CIUDADES for Latin America (1990-1993), director of FLACSO-Ecuador (1995-2004) and councilman of the Metropolitan District of Quito (2005-2009). Fernando has founded eight thematic journals, and has published over 250 academic articles, 64 books (as editor or author) and 12 book collections (as coordinator). In 2015 he was recognized by ESGLOBAL as one of the fifty most influential intellectuals of Latin America.

Francisco Enríquez Bermeo, Department of Political Studies, FLACSO-Ecuador. Francisco holds a degree in Economics from Universidad Central del Ecuador and a Master's degree in Local Development from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. From 2015 to 2017, he coordinated the research project "Exploring the political economy of violence in Latin America's borders". Francisco is currently the Executive Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Border Cities (OLACCIF), a position he has held since 2016.