“We stand in strong support of Harvard Kennedy School Professor Ricardo Hausmann's freedom to express his views in the public arena, where others are free to question and debate the merits of his arguments,” the statement read.

“Harvard University and HKS strongly defend the right of any faculty member to communicate his or her views. It is in the open exchange of opinions and ideas that people and nations can learn and prosper,” they continued.

Hausmann’s colleague Lant Pritchett, who described himself as a close friend of Hausmann, said that he doubted Maduro’s ability to follow through in taking action against Hausmann, even though he may try.

“If the current Venezuelan government could do damage to Ricardo Hausmann, I don’t put it past them that they would,” Pritchett said, hypothetically.

Pritchett also said that Maduro’s accusations contradict the basic civil liberties of Venezuela’s constitution.

“This does violate every principle of free speech to go after someone using executive and judicial threats in response to something they said that was a perfectly reasonable, perfectly well-articulated, and entertainable point of view about the substance of the economy,” Pritchett said. “That’s just beyond the pale of what decent and respectful governments should do.”

—Staff writer Forrest K. Lewis can be reached at forrest.lewis@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @ForrestKLewis.