Venezuela, narcotics trafficking topic for BYU lecture Nov. 5 - BYU News Skip to main content
Intellect

Venezuela, narcotics trafficking topic for BYU lecture Nov. 5

“Narcotics Trafficking and the Increasingly Important Role Venezuela Plays as a Transit Country” will be the topic of a Brigham Young University Foreign Service Lecture on Monday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. in 238 Herald R. Clark Building.

The lecture will be presented by BYU alumnus Willard Tenney Smith as part of the David M. Kennedy Center’s Hometown Diplomat Program.

Smith is the first secretary and director of the Narcotics Affairs and Law Enforcement Section of the American Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, where he works to interrupt the transit of narcotics and promote rule of law through support of local law enforcement and judicial sectors.

He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1992 after having worked as an intelligence officer with the Department of Defense and in a variety of positions in Mexico, Peru, Jordan, Guyana and Washington, D.C. He has been given many awards for his service.

Prior to his government assignments, Smith served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cordoba, Argentina, and received a bachelor’s in Near Eastern studies from BYU. His master’s degree is from the University of Texas at Austin.

This lecture will be archived online. For more information on David M. Kennedy Center events, see the calendar online at kennedy.byu.edu.

Writer: Marissa Ballantyne

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

BYU’s 2025 awards season honors student standouts

May 15, 2025
Rise and shout! Across various disciplines, BYU students have been recognized for their world-class accomplishments.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Student inventors help BYU rank as a top U.S. university for newly-issued patents

May 12, 2025
Brigham Young University was just ranked as one of the Top 100 universities in the nation for most issued patents. But the new ranking from the National Academy of Inventors isn’t the story for BYU; it’s who holds the patents.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU research: Your beliefs about money may reveal clues about your relationship

May 07, 2025
Everyone holds their own beliefs about money – what it’s for, how much we need and how to use it. But a new study from researchers at BYU says personal beliefs about money also shape the health of your relationship.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=