Anthony Arismendi is a former FBI agent with a highly decorated and distinguished career spanning two decades of undercover and special operations against drug cartels, gangs, organized crime, violent criminals, and terrorist organizations. He has served as a member of the FBI’s SWAT team, as a supervisory agent in two field offices and FBI Headquarters, and as a unit chief in the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. He is the recipient of the Hispanic American Police Command Officer’s Association’s (HAPCOA) Medal of Meritorious Service, the Special Act Award from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner’s Criminal Investigator’s Award, and he was recognized by FBI Director Louis J. Freeh for his nomination to the prestigious FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in Investigations. Today, he is the President and CEO of ARIXMAR, author and sought-after public speaker, sharing his compelling and motivating story with public and private organizations across the country.
In his new book, “Outsider Agent” he tells the story of how he moved to the United States from the dangerous streets of Caracas, Venezuela as a teenager in the mid-seventies, with the dream of becoming a US citizen and an FBI agent—adapting his survival skills to a new culture, one harrowing day at a time, overcoming homelessness, prejudice, and poverty to achieve the impossible.
