Ph.D. Carlos Barrera Franco is currently a professor and researcher at the Mexican Institute for Strategic Studies in National Security and Defense (IMEESDN) and a member of the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC) – Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). He attained this doctoral degree in War studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Manuel Carranza is an independent researcher focused on defense policy and a member of the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC) – Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).