# Matthew John Heath

> Latin America political risk, crisis response, and detention-risk advisory — for companies, family offices, and internationally exposed principals. U.S. Marine Corps veteran (1999–2003, signals intelligence, decorated at Nasiriyah); wrongfully detained by Venezuela 2020–2022 (752 days) on charges the U.S. State Department called specious; released October 1, 2022 in a prisoner exchange announced by President Biden.

Key facts:
- Full name: Matthew John Heath (American; not the New Zealand broadcaster Matt Heath)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105962521
- Practice: strategic risk assessment; counterparty & partner due diligence (field-informed integrity vetting of the people and entities behind a deal, partnership, or market entry); detention & travel-risk advisory; crisis response & preparedness; retained advisory. Engagements structured as retainers, fixed-fee assessments, executive briefings, or crisis-response support
- Clients: companies, family offices, NGOs, internationally exposed principals
- Media: available for commentary on Venezuela, wrongful detention, hostage diplomacy, Latin American security (CBS, Fox News, NPR, WBIR appearances)
- Advocacy: works with the nonprofit Hostage US for Americans detained abroad

## Pages

- [Home](https://matthewjohnheath.com/): services, bio, public-record proof (White House statement), press kit, consulting and media inquiry forms
- [Wrongful Detention as a Business Risk](https://matthewjohnheath.com/wrongful-detention-risk.html): practice briefing on detention risk, exposure, preparedness, and first-72-hours response
- [Vetting a Partner in Latin America](https://matthewjohnheath.com/partner-due-diligence-latin-america.html): due-diligence briefing — why the region is different, what vetting covers, red flags, when database screening is not enough
- [Venezuela Detention Timeline](https://matthewjohnheath.com/venezuela-detention-timeline.html): public-record timeline of his 2020–2022 detention with primary sources
- [FAQ](https://matthewjohnheath.com/faq.html): common questions, including disambiguation and engagement details

## Contact

- Consulting inquiry form: https://matthewjohnheath.com/#contact
- Media inquiries: email matthew [at] matthewjohnheath.com with outlet, topic, and deadline (deadline requests prioritized)
- All inquiries held in strict confidence; urgent inquiries flagged for priority review