How do you see this now evolving with what's going on in Venezuela, but also in the broader region?

Well, I think it already has.

I think that we might be close to seeing some change happening in Cuba.

And I would hope that that will also impact Nicaragua.

And I think that it's very clear that change... to with this dictators with this autocratic regimes it's very difficult to happen from within uh that would be the path that we would prefer i mean i know that that's what felix or any other nicaraguan venezuelan we would like to see change happening from within but we have done everything We have gone to elections.

We have negotiated.

We have gone to impose sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and none of that led to change.

But then the question is, how can AI maximize the human spirit in this struggle against authoritarianism? And it's been really eye-opening to see the way in which our members have embraced uh this technology i believe that the fact that we have already been working on freedom uh tech and and technologies and democracy through bitcoin before in a way created a mindset that has allowed the organization to embrace ai as a tool for freedom uh as an assumption that is actually maximizing the capacity of our activists in in a way that is really really uh optimistic

exist right so we'll have to rebuild while also trying to create the infrastructure for freedom so i would like to first of all start by saying that you start the article with your own experience of imprisonment and solitary confinement to explain though how surveillance works in general on human freedom and also in our capacity to speak out to organize and that impacts also those who are not as you have been at the sharpest end of authoritarian repression So to get us started and get a sense for the listeners who haven't read the article yet, what is network control and how is it different from the surveillance or the repression that unfortunately we have known across all authoritarian regimes ever?

Yeah, so the basic idea is this, that autocracies have sustained their hold of power because they control certain things about society.

They control information.

They control the money flow, the finances.

They control the movement of individuals within a territory.

They control the communications and the truth and the perception of reality.

So these are things that autocracies have controlled more or less effectively throughout history.

So banking is one, as I mentioned, what else are they trying to find solutions for? What else are you helping to find solutions for?

So to get us started and get a sense for the listeners who haven't read the article yet, what is network control, and how is it different from, you know, the surveillance or the repression that unfortunately we have known across all authoritarian regimes, like, ever?

ever?Yeah, so, so, um, the, the basic idea is this, that autocracies have sustained their hold of power because they control certain things about society.

They control information, they control the money flow, the finances, they control the movement of individuals within a territory, uh, they control the communications and the truth and the perception of reality.

So these are things that autocracies have controlled, uh, more or less effectively throughout history.

But now we live in a world where this control is happening not just at the geographical level, not just at the ground, uh, human level, but it's also happening at the digital, uh, level.

It's happening at a level where there are other considerations, other opportunities, and that's what I write about specifically, the opportunities.

There are also other challenges, uh, not just to countries living under autocratic regimes, but also for democratic countries.

What, what else, uh, are they f- trying to find solutions for, and what else are you helping to find solutions for?

exist right so we'll have to rebuild while also trying to create the infrastructure for freedom so i would like to first of all start by saying that you start the article with your own experience of imprisonment and solitary confinement to explain though how surveillance works in general on human freedom and also in our capacity to speak out to organize and that impacts also those who are not as you have been at the sharpest end of authoritarian repression So to get us started and get a sense for the listeners who haven't read the article yet, what is network control and how is it different from the surveillance or the repression that unfortunately we have known across all authoritarian regimes ever?

Yeah, so the basic idea is this, that autocracies have sustained their hold of power because they control certain things about society.

They control information.

They control the money flow, the finances.

They control the movement of individuals within a territory.

They control the communications and the truth and the perception of reality.

So these are things that autocracies have controlled more or less effectively throughout history.

So banking is one, as I mentioned, what else are they trying to find solutions for? What else are you helping to find solutions for?

exist right so we'll have to rebuild while also trying to create the infrastructure for freedom so i would like to first of all start by saying that you start the article with your own experience of imprisonment and solitary confinement to explain though how surveillance works in general on human freedom and also in our capacity to speak out to organize and that impacts also those who are not as you have been at the sharpest end of authoritarian repression So to get us started and get a sense for the listeners who haven't read the article yet, what is network control and how is it different from the surveillance or the repression that unfortunately we have known across all authoritarian regimes ever?

Yeah, so the basic idea is this, that autocracies have sustained their hold of power because they control certain things about society.

They control information.

They control the money flow, the finances.

They control the movement of individuals within a territory.

They control the communications and the truth and the perception of reality.

So these are things that autocracies have controlled more or less effectively throughout history.

So banking is one, as I mentioned, what else are they trying to find solutions for? What else are you helping to find solutions for?

You must have an idea in your mind

...

Well, I, I think like many Venezuelans that it should happen as soon as it can happen, but then we should talk about what are the conditions for that election.

So it's not just about the time for the election, it's what needs to happen, and let me just unpack some of the things that need to happen.

One, there needs to be an electoral board, a new electoral board designated that will call for the election.

Two, Venezuelans would need to be able to register.

Uh, there are 10 million Venezuelans living outside our country of a population of 30 million.

So why did you keep doing it? I mean, before you were sent to prison, why, knowing the risks, why did you keep pushing, keep protesting?

... what, what Washington says goes.

In a great deal, that is true.

Maybe some of the people that are listening to us would say, "Wow, that's, uh, something unacceptable." Well, it's important that we understand where we come from.

Five months ago, Venezuela was under the tutelage, not of the US, but of Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba.

So unfortunately, Venezuela was not, uh, exercising its full sovereignty before, and now it's under the influence of the United States, which is something that most Venezuelans appreciate.

More than eighty percent of Venezuelans appreciate positively the capture of Maduro and the influence of the United States.

But what's the timescale? I mean, what timescale would you like to see for that transition to elections?

It should happen as soon as it can happen.