She obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science at Brown University, a B.A. from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and an M.A. from New York University. She is the author of “The Politics of Drug Violence: Criminals, Cops, and Politicians in Colombia and Mexico” (Oxford University Press, 2018). Her research focuses on organized crime, drug trafficking, violence, and the state in Latin America and has received funding from the United States Institute of Peace, the Social Science Research Council, and the Drugs, Security, and Democracy fellowship of the SSRC. She has published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Latin American Politics and Society, Comparative Political Studies, Crime, Law and Social Change, among other journals. She has also written several book chapters and opinion pieces.