George L. Piro Named Special Agent in Charge of FBI Miami Division

FBI Director James B. Comey Jr. has named George L. Piro to be the special agent in charge of the Miami Division. Mr. Piro most recently served as the deputy assistant director of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate at FBI Headquarters. In this role, he helped lead the FBI’s efforts to deny adversaries’ access to weapons of mass destruction materials and technologies, detect and disrupt the use of weapons of mass destruction, and respond to weapons of mass destruction threats and incidents.

Mr. Piro has held a variety of investigative, operational, and management positions within the Counterterrorism Division. He entered on duty in 1999 and was assigned to the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office to work international terrorism cases. In March 2003, he was promoted to the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters and was subsequently selected as the team leader and interrogator for the FBI team responsible for the interrogation of Saddam Hussein and other key figures within the former Iraqi regime.

In March 2006, he was promoted as the supervisor of the Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, responsible for the investigation of threats against the National Capital Region from international terrorist organizations. Mr. Piro also served as the assistant special agent in charge of the International Terrorism Branch for the Washington Field Office. As part of his multiple counterterrorism assignments, he has deployed throughout the Middle East.

From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Piro served as director of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), an interagency unit overseen by the Counterterrorism Security Group within the White House that involves the intelligence community.

Mr. Piro was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, and is a fluent Arabic and Assyrian speaker. He served as a police officer in California for nearly 10 years preceding his FBI service.

He has received numerous awards for his intelligence and law enforcement service, including the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence, and the FBI Medal for Meritorious Achievement.

Mr. Piro received his bachelor’s degree from Chapman University in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Security Studies, and he holds a master’s certificate in Arab Studies.