Analysis & Commentary

Obama Administration Pushes Back on Lawsuit Regarding Wiretapping

Court to Review Case against Surveillance Law
21 Feb 2012
Late on Friday, February 17, the Obama administration decided it will seek to overturn the ruling of a lower court and will ask the Supreme Court to rule on the right of a coalition of groups—including WOLA—to challenge warrantless wiretapping.

Misguided Efforts to Promote Democracy in Cuba

13 Feb 2012
The USAID programs employing Alan Gross and others are ill-conceived. Whatever their intentions, they do nothing to actually promote democracy.

Police Strikes in Brazil Evidence of Deeper Structural Problems

10 Feb 2012
At the beginning of February, around 10,000 members of the military police in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia went on strike after years of failed negotiations for pay increases and better benefits. The strikes will likely spread to other areas of Brazil.

Republican Candidates Compete for the Shrinking Voting Bloc of Hardline Cuban Americans

31 Jan 2012
Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have both locked themselves in to radicalized positions on Cuba in order to compete for the Cuban-American share of the Republican primary vote

Recent Developments on the Use of Military Jurisdiction in Mexico

31 Jan 2012
In this memo, WOLA's Maureen Meyer analyzes recent developments and obstacles in transferring cases of human rights violations from military to civilian jurisdiction in Mexico, including the status of three such cases and the implications of the Mexican Supreme Court's July 2011 ruling.

“Consolidation,” land restitution, and rising tensions in Montes de María

Report of a November 2011 visit to a principal destination for U.S. aid
30 Jan 2012
We found a zone where, following several years of relative peace, tensions are rising. The national government is gearing up to launch an ambitious land-restitution program. Consolidation, meanwhile, gives a big role to the military while assisting small farmers, including returning displaced populations, and improving local government

Former Guatemalan Dictator to Face Court for Genocide During Civil War

24 Jan 2012
José Efraín Ríos Montt will appear in court this Thursday, January 26, to face genocide charges relating to his 1982-1983 regime. However, a lack of transparency within the Defense Ministry and weaknesses in the Guatemalan justice system may make it difficult to bring him to justice.

Government Records and Human Rights Prosecutions in Brazil

The Araguaia case and its implications for truth and justice
20 Jan 2012
On December 15, 2011, WOLA and the National Security Archive co-hosted a discussion to mark the one-year anniversary of the Araguaia ruling in the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR). Watch the event and read about their conclusions.

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