Our Team
The Manifest is led by two senior editors who have spent their careers inside the work we cover.
Raju Boddu, Editor-in-Chief, was comptroller of Customs of Antigua and Barbuda from 2012 to 2025 and has chaired the Finance Committee of the World Customs Organization. He news from the inside what it takes to run a Customs administration, modernise it and apply trade policy at the border.
Erika Medina Barrantes, Executive Editor, has led Customs modernisation and trade facilitation projects across Latin America for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the OECD and USDA. She represented Instituto Aliança Procomex in the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group and teaches trade policy and regulations at ESIC Business & Marketing School.
One has led a Customs administration and applied trade policy at the border. The other has advised governments on trade facilitation reform and teaches how trade rules are made. Together they bring both sides of the border, and both policy and practice, to every edition, with a clear and evidence-based editorial voice that informs policy, sharpens practice and opens the real conversations the sector needs to have.
Raju Boddu
M.Sc., MBA, CFE
Editor-In-Chief
Raju Boddu is Editor-in-Chief of the Manifest and an international customs, trade facilitation, and public-sector governance professional with over 40 years of experience spanning banking, public administration, customs management, financial oversight, forensic auditing, and national security.
A former Assistant Comptroller and Auditor General of India, he served as Chief Forensic Auditor (Customs) and Treasury Consultant to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda before being appointed Comptroller of Customs, a position he held from 2012 to 2025. During his tenure, he led significant customs modernization initiatives, strengthening border security, trade facilitation, compliance, and revenue collection.
At the international level, he has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) and Chair of the Finance Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO), contributing to customs governance and policy development worldwide. He is widely recognized for his leadership in customs modernization, trade compliance, border management, and the application of emerging technologies in international trade.
Raju holds an MBA (Distinction/Valedictorian) from the University of the West Indies, an M.Sc., and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). His expertise includes customs administration, international trade, border security, financial management, forensic auditing, taxation, governance, and public policy. He has served on several national strategic bodies in Antigua and Barbuda, including the National Security Council, and on the boards of major public enterprises. He currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Antigua and Barbuda Special Economic Zone Authority and Deputy Chairman of the St. John’s Development Corporation.
A former Assistant Comptroller and Auditor General of India, he served as Chief Forensic Auditor (Customs) and Treasury Consultant to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda before being appointed Comptroller of Customs, a position he held from 2012 to 2025. During his tenure, he led significant customs modernization initiatives, strengthening border security, trade facilitation, compliance, and revenue collection.
At the international level, he has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) and Chair of the Finance Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO), contributing to customs governance and policy development worldwide. He is widely recognized for his leadership in customs modernization, trade compliance, border management, and the application of emerging technologies in international trade.
Raju holds an MBA (Distinction/Valedictorian) from the University of the West Indies, an M.Sc., and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). His expertise includes customs administration, international trade, border security, financial management, forensic auditing, taxation, governance, and public policy. He has served on several national strategic bodies in Antigua and Barbuda, including the National Security Council, and on the boards of major public enterprises. He currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Antigua and Barbuda Special Economic Zone Authority and Deputy Chairman of the St. John’s Development Corporation.
Erika Medina Barrantes
PhD
Executive Editor
Erika Medina Barrantes is Executive Editor of The Manifest and a Senior Consultant at Instituto Aliança Procomex, where she leads trade facilitation, customs modernization, and cross-border digital transformation projects across Latin America. Her work bridges public policy, customs operations, private-sector engagement, and technology-enabled reform, helping governments and business communities translate complex trade challenges into practical implementation agendas.
She has led and coordinated multi-country initiatives involving customs administrations, border agencies, international organizations, and business communities across the Southern Cone, MERCOSUR, and Central America, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Her experience includes process modernization, Time Release Studies, coordinated border management, Single Window and Port Community System projects, regulatory analysis, and implementation roadmaps for trade facilitation reforms, among others.
Erika has worked on initiatives supported by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the OECD, USDA/T-FAST, IESC, UNESCO, the UK Prosperity Fund, and the Universal Postal Union. Her work combines evidence-based trade facilitation assessments, digital trade and customs modernization projects, and work on cross-border e-commerce and international standards, including the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators in Brazil and initiatives linked to more interoperable and inclusive B2B2C trade models.
She represents Instituto Procomex in the World Customs Organization’s Private Sector Consultative Group, contributing to international discussions on customs modernization, e-commerce, supply chain security, and emerging technologies. Erika is also Professor of Trade Policy and Regulations at ESIC Business & Marketing School in Spain. She holds a PhD in International Relations and brings to The Manifest a systems-thinking perspective, political awareness, and a practical understanding of how technology, governance, and trade policy interact in real operational environments.
She has led and coordinated multi-country initiatives involving customs administrations, border agencies, international organizations, and business communities across the Southern Cone, MERCOSUR, and Central America, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Her experience includes process modernization, Time Release Studies, coordinated border management, Single Window and Port Community System projects, regulatory analysis, and implementation roadmaps for trade facilitation reforms, among others.
Erika has worked on initiatives supported by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the OECD, USDA/T-FAST, IESC, UNESCO, the UK Prosperity Fund, and the Universal Postal Union. Her work combines evidence-based trade facilitation assessments, digital trade and customs modernization projects, and work on cross-border e-commerce and international standards, including the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators in Brazil and initiatives linked to more interoperable and inclusive B2B2C trade models.
She represents Instituto Procomex in the World Customs Organization’s Private Sector Consultative Group, contributing to international discussions on customs modernization, e-commerce, supply chain security, and emerging technologies. Erika is also Professor of Trade Policy and Regulations at ESIC Business & Marketing School in Spain. She holds a PhD in International Relations and brings to The Manifest a systems-thinking perspective, political awareness, and a practical understanding of how technology, governance, and trade policy interact in real operational environments.
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