Yon Alexander Goicoechea Lara is a Venezuelan lawyer, activist and organizer. He emerged as one of the leaders behind the Venezuelan Student Movement, which formed as a result of actions by Hugo Chávez to amass further power as the country's president. He holds degrees from the Andrés Bello Catholic University and Columbia University.

The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries. Cato was established to focus on public advocacy, media exposure and societal influence.