Bio

Jorge Agobian is a journalist based in Washington D.C., born and raised in Venezuela. He is a White House Correspondent working for the Voice of America’s Spanish branch.

He has broken stories on foreign policy and immigration that have generated reactions from Latin American governments and leaders. As one of the few journalists reporting in Spanish from the White House, his work has gained notoriety for his ability to explain complex issues in Washington to Latinos and foreign nationals.

His interviews with senior U.S. officials and Foreign Leaders have been picked up by several national and international media organizations such as CNN, The New York Times, Univision, Telemundo, Deutsche Welle, and others. 

Jorge Agobian is the first Venezuelan to cover the White House and the youngest Latino reporting on the Biden administration. He has covered both the 45th and 46th Presidents of the United States and is a frequent member of the in-and-out-of-town White House pool system for Presidential and Vice Presidential events.

Jorge has reported live for roughly a hundred radio and television stations in more than 16 Latin American countries and the United States.

He has led top international coverage such as the United Nations General Assembly, the OAS, the IMF, and the World Bank, and major events in the United States, including primaries, presidential debates, elections, hurricanes, and border crises.

His coverage of election cycles and the news coming out of the Oval Office and across the United States does not simply describe what happened but explains its impact, context, and historical background for a better understanding, whether you are an everyday citizen or a foreign national.

Before joining VOA in 2018, he worked as a reporter and TV producer in Miami and Caracas, Venezuela.

He is a member of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the US (AFC-USA).

Jorge was born in a remote town in Venezuela called Zaraza, for which he created the first website when he was 13. Jorge emigrated from his native Venezuela to the United States in 2015.

Featured Interviews

• Juan González, Biden’s National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere. [Various interviews picked up by CNN, New York Times, Miami Herald, El Mundo, Infobae, and several media outlets in Latin America].
• Elliott Abrams, Trump’s US Special Representative for Venezuela, July 2019. [Picked up by CBS, DEUTSCHE WELLE, NTN24, and several outlets in Venezuela.
• John Kerry, President Biden’s Special Envoy for Climate.
• Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
• Roberta Jacobson, Special Assistant to the President Biden and Coordinator for the Southwest Border, 2021.
• Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health.
• Ricardo Zúñiga, US Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle, 2021.
• Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s National Security Council Director for the Western Hemisphere, 2018, 2019, 2020.
• Helen Aguirre Ferré, White House Director of Media Affairs, August 2017, March 2018.
• Julian Castro, Democratic primary candidate, September 2019.
• Marta Lucía Ramírez, Vice President of Colombia, May 2019.
• Juan Orlando Hernández, President of Honduras, August 2019.
• Alejandro Giammattei, President of Guatemala, August 2019.
• U.S. Congress Members: Senator Tim Kaine (D), Senator Rick Scott (R), Senator Robert Menéndez (D), Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R), Representative Albio Sires (D), etc.
• Paulo Abrão, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, CIDH, January 2019.
• Gonzalo Koncke, July 2018.

Featured Coverages:

• U.S. Presidential Election 2020-2021: primaries and debates (Miami and Houston, 2019), DNC and RNC conventions, second presidential debate (Nashville), and election day. 
• Joe Biden’s Inauguration, 2021.
• United Nations General Assembly, UNGA (New York, 2018, 2019).
• OAS General Assembly (2016, 2017, 2018).
• U.S. border crisis (San Ysidro, CA, 2018; Laredo, TX, 2019).
• Venezuelan crisis: 2014 and 2015 m (from Venezuela); 2017-2019 (from the US).
• US Midterm Elections, 2019.
• Natural disaster: Hurricane Irma (Florida, 2017), Hurricane Florence (North Carolina 2018), Hurricane Michael (Florida, 2018).
• US Presidential Elections, 2016: RNC and DNC conventions.