Latin America Today

Mario Moreno, WOLA's VP for Communications, interviews Director for Defense Oversight Adam Isacson and Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights Maureen Meyer on current challenges the region faces from ineffective migration policies and protection of migrant rights and what might be done to change the situation. Beyond the Wall is a bilingual segment of the Latin America Today podcast, and a part of the Washington Office on Latin America's Beyond the Wall advocacy campaign.

Adriana Beltran and Austin Robles of WOLA’s Citizen Security Program discuss the beleaguered fight against corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Their Central America Monitor tracks progress on 8 indicators and closely watches over U.S. aid.

Our team recorded a roundtable discussion at WOLA the morning after this year's State of the Union, particularly focused on what the president's words and actions mean for human rights and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

The U.S. policy of "Remain in Mexico", building the border wall, and the overall criminalization of Central American migrants and asylum seekers has produced a number human rights, economic, security, and administrative consequences on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. During the week of January 20th, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) staff and partners visited El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in order to observe and document the state of migration and migrant rights at the border.

For Venezuela, 2020 began with new political turmoil, as the Maduro government maneuvered to take over the presidency of the opposition-majority National Assembly.

Will this backfire for Maduro? Can the opposition maintain unity? Are negotiations toward new elections feasible? Is the U.S. government sending a coherent message? What about other international actors, like the EU and Russia? Geoff Ramsey, WOLA's director for Venezuela, explains this moment and potential solutions.

WOLA Director for the Andes Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli explains Colombia's four-week-old wave of social protests, peace accord implementation, and what WOLA staff saw and heard during October field research in the conflictive Arauca and Chocó regions.

Though the Trump administration is purportedly pro-business, its Cuba policy has hit the island's nascent private sector very hard. Oniel Díaz of AUGE, a Cuban business development team, discusses the damage done and how entrepreneurs are adapting.

Tensions are very high in Bolivia in the days since President Evo Morales resigned, following a fraud-marred election. From Cochabamba, Kathryn Ledebur of the Andean Information Network explains the situation and the alarming turn that events are taking.

WOLA's Adam Isacson and Maureen Meyer covered nearly 400 miles of the Mexico-Guatemala border in mid-August. Amid a US-inspired crackdown on migration, they saw National Guardsmen, checkpoints, and thousands stranded after crossing half the planet.

WOLA’s president, Matt Clausen, shares what he saw and heard during a recent delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border at El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Family migration increased 1,500% there this year. Matt found a strong community dealing with a dire situation.