Dr. José Rafael Espada (born January 14, 1944 in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

) is a former

Vice President of Guatemala Vice president of Guatemala is a political position in Guatemala which is since 1966 elected concurrently with the position of President of Guatemala. The current Vice President is Guillermo Castillo Reyes. The Vice President needs to be a Gu ...

and a former cardiothoracic surgeon. Espada is well known in the Houston cardiothoracic surgery community. He grew up in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. From an early age he wanted to grow up to be a doctor. Espada received his doctorate degree at the

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...

(USAC) in Guatemala and performed his surgery internship residency training in general and thoracic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He also received subspecialty training from LeClub Mitrale,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; and other highly recognized international institutions. He was a resident of

West University Place West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, a city surrounded by Houston. He was employed at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, and a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

. Espada was known to travel from Houston to Guatemala on a monthly basis, to treat underprivileged patients requiring special cardiothoracic procedures. As a cardiac surgeon, he was best known for performing Pulmonary Thromboembolectomies. He has raised money for a charity hospital in Guatemala, and currently are building a state-of-the-art facility specifically designed for cardiothoracic surgery. He performed an average of 10 charity surgeries out of the US every month. He was also board-certified in General Surgery. While at Houston, performed nearly 1000 cardiothoracic procedures a year and around 400 in Guatemala. Espada has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout the course of his medical career including: Honorary Doctorate from the University of Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, Honorary Professor from

Universidad La Salle Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

in Mexico City, Governors award from The Chest Foundation, Paul Harris Award from the International Rotary Society, among many others. Since 1981 he has been related with the Brazilian Vascular Society and received in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

many Brazilian doctors, that learned with him the best techniques on cardiovascular surgery. He was the main guest speaker for the Vascular Meeting of the Brazilian Society in Rio de Janeiro, in June 1998. In 1992 Espada was honored with an honorary doctorate degree in science by

Universidad Francisco Marroquín Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical, ...

. He recently stepped down from his position at Houston's Methodist Hospital/DeBakey Heart Institute and returned to his native Guatemala. There, he successfully ran for Vice President of Guatemala. On January 14, 2008, he took office alongside the President,

Álvaro Colom Álvaro Colom Caballeros (; born 15 June 1951) is a Guatemalan politician who was the President of Guatemala from 2008 to 2012, as well as leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope (UNE). Early years Colom was born in Guatemala Cit ...

Affiliations

Dr. Espada is vice chairman of the board of directors of the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

-based think-tank

Global Financial Integrity Raymond W. Baker (born October 30, 1935) is an American businessman, scholar, author, and "authority on financial crime." He is the founder and president of Global Financial Integrity, a research and advocacy organization in Washington, DC workin ...

Sources

*http://www.pinnaclecare.com/finding/mab/physicians/phcphysicianbio.2005-07-28.9726418592/phcphysicianbio_view *http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/05_15_01/page_05.html

References

External links

Honorary Doctoral Degrees

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espada, Rafael Living people People from Guatemala City Guatemalan surgeons Vice presidents of Guatemala 1944 births Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni National Unity of Hope politicians Guatemalan politicians