
November 18, 2009
"Today, the U.S. Congress takes a major step forward in reshaping U.S. policy toward Cuba," said Geoff Thale, Program Director at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). "It has been more than a decade since the House has held a hearing on travel to Cuba. Finally, under the leadership of Chairman Howard Berman, the House Foreign Affairs ...

October 29, 2009
Tomorrow, the United Nations General Assembly will likely vote overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. embargo against Cuba for an 18th consecutive year. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) strongly applauds this statement from the international community and the nations of Latin America.

June 4, 2009
In a historic agreement, foreign ministers meeting yesterday at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, agreed by consensus to end Cuba’s suspension from the body, imposed in 1962 at the height of the Cold War.

March 31, 2009
“Momentum for change in U.S.-Cuba policy is building,” said Geoff Thale, Program Director of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), today.

March 14, 2009
A statement from a White House spokesperson yesterday indicated the President is considering additional steps to liberalize travel to Cuba, beyond those recently issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which authorize family travel to Cuba once a year and redefine “family” to include relatives beyond immediate family members.

January 22, 2009
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) applauds President Obama’s orders to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and to ban the use of torture during interrogations.

September 17, 2008
The United States has an opportunity to save lives - and to turn a diplomatic corner - if we can rise above politics and allow Cuban Americans to aid family members back in Cuba which has been savaged by two tropical storms and two hurricanes in just 30 days.

July 15, 2008
Today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a preliminary study of the contracting procedures of Radio and TV Marti, reporting that the processes did not reflect sound business practices. The study is part of a larger inquiry into U.S. efforts to broadcast news and information to Cuba. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) expresses concern about these findings, ...

May 21, 2008
Members of Congress urge President Bush to heed the requests of Cuban dissidents for greater exchange between the U.S. and Cuba.

March 12, 2008
Join us for Cuba Consultation Day: Encouraging Engagement- Supporting a Travel Surge to Cuba.

February 28, 2008
Today, twenty-four U.S. Senators called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to re-examine U.S.-Cuba policy

February 20, 2008
More than 100 members of Congress called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to review U.S.-Cuba policy today as Fidel Castro, Cuba's head of state announced he would not seek re-election.

February 19, 2008
Cuban President Fidel Castro has resigned after nearly 50 years in power, and an orderly transition seems to be underway. With its embargo and continued efforts to isolate Cuba internationally, the United States remains irrelevant to that process and carries little or no influence at this historic moment. Read more...

December 18, 2007
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) supports the U.S. Cuba Cultural Exchange in urging President Bush to lift the ban on travel to Cuba with the aim of fostering artistic exchange between the U.S. and Cuba.
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November 14, 2007
WOLA Associate Elsa Falkenburger discusses U.S. policy toward Cuba on CSPAN's Washington Journal.

August 29, 2007
Two Democratic candidates for the U.S. presidency, Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd, have offered new proposals to loosen U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba. WOLA appreciates Senators Obama and Dodd for their fresh thinking on Cuba and hopes their statements will lead to a wider debate among all the candidates on how to change our failed Cuba policy.