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Leopoldo J Martinez Nucete is a Venezuelan-American international lawyer, social entrepreneur and politician based in McLean, Virginia.

Early political career in Venezuela
Leopoldo Martinez was a Congressman in Venezuela, elected as an independent by the State of Miranda; and became a strong voice in opposition to the Chavista regime.

While in Venezuela's National Assembly, Martinez denounced the negative and corruptive effects of the cooperation between the governments of Castro (Cuba) and Chavez (Venezuela); and fearlessly criticized Chavez's economic policies and the undermining of democratic institutions.

After being harassed by the regime of Hugo Chavez, he moved to the United States, where he continues to advocate for Venezuela's return to democracy, while working in empowerment programs with the Latino community, and an advocate of economic inclusion.

Political and advocacy in the United States
Leopoldo J Martinez is a member of the Democratic National Committe (DNC), the Steering Committe of the Democratic Party of Virginia, while acting as the Finance Chair of the DNC Hispanic Caucus and the Board Chair of Latino Victory Project.

Martinez founded the Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas IQLatino, a nonprofit organization that sponsors a platform to empower latino leaders in the U.S., Ibero-America, and the Caribbean, through collaborative research, cooperation, training, and exchange of best practices among NGOs, focused on the policies and public-private partnerships to address the main problems of the hemisphere. The IQ Latino initiative is focused on economic the empowerment of Latinos and hispanic small business owners, social entrepreneurs and innovators.

He also serves as a member of the Small Business Commission of the Commonwealth of Virginia, appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Author and Professor
A graduate from Harvard Law School and Princeton University, Martínez is the author of the book, “Democracia Económica”. He has served as a Professor of Tax and Public Finance Law at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Venezuela, and as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School.

He is also a guest lecturer in George Washington University and the Universidad de Navarra, Spain. His articles and Op-Eds are published by the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Fox News Latino and El Nacional. He is a frequent TV commentator in NTN24 and CNN en Español.

In June 2018, Martinez appointed Board of Visitors to the University of Mary Washington.