Analysis
Research and Policy Solutions for the Americas
We are known for our rigorous research and informed analysis on critical issues in the Americas. Our long-standing commitment to blending research and advocacy, collaborating with partners across the Americas, and serving as a trusted resource for policymakers, academics, and diverse audiences in both the U.S. and abroad, sets us apart. We produce analysis through reports, perspectives, features, Q&As and more.
Research
Explore in-depth research that provides critical insights into human rights, democracy, and public policy issues across Latin America.
-
Banished to the South: The Human Cost of Deportation
Leer en español – Printer-friendly PDF version (English – Español) Podcast episode: Audio en español – Video with English subtitles “Mass deportation” The painful impact of the Trump administration’s “mass deportation” strategy is an urgent national crisis in the United States, raising alarm in communities, the immigration court system, detention centers, and border regions. The impact in Mexico is also…
-
Killing Spree: Extrajudicial executions in the U.S. boat strikes campaign
Read a printer-friendly (PDF) version of this report | Lea el resumen ejecutivo en español Contents Executive Summary 1. A secret policy with a public social media campaign 1.1. Data about the strikes 1.2. “Southern Spear”: even the goals are secret 1.3. Assets and costs 1.4. A radical departure from longstanding practice 2. The strikes and the Trump administration’s “lethal”…
Perspectives
Read unique perspectives on pressing human rights challenges shaping Latin America
-
Brazil’s Pivot Toward Beijing Is Made in Washington
Coercive tariffs and visa retaliation cannot correct a trade imbalance that doesn’t exist in the first place. The U.S. is giving China its strongest argument yet for why Brazil should look elsewhere. The Trade Rift Between the U.S. and Brazil On July 15, 2026, the Trump administration imposed a fresh 25 percent tariff on most Brazilian imports, the culmination of a year-long Section 301 investigation into…
-
Termination of TPS for El Salvador: What’s the Impact?
The termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador is taking place against a backdrop of a severe deterioration of democracy and human rights in the country. During its more than seven years in power, Nayib Bukele’s government has weakened institutional checks and balances, curtailed due process guarantees, and expanded the power of the security forces. The state of…
-
Colombia’s Immigration Crackdown Threatens Venezuelan’s Rights
On August 23, Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered Migración Colombia (Colombia’s migration agency) and the National Police to launch nationwide operations to locate, identify, and deport migrants in irregular status, prioritizing foreign nationals allegedly linked to criminal activity and framing the crackdown under his nationalist “Colombia First” agenda. Colombia has migrants from different nationalities in the country who…
-
Trade Pressure and Political Intervention Converge in U.S.-Brazil Relations
Just 47 days before Brazil’s first-round election, U.S.-Brazil relations have entered a particularly sensitive period. What was framed as a trade dispute has increasingly converged with Brazil’s 2026 presidential campaign, raising concerns about U.S. involvement in domestic politics. Since the Trump administration confirmed a 25 percent Section 301 tariff on Brazilian goods alleging unfair trade practices in mid-July, and an additional 12.5 percent tariff in late July as part of a Section 301 action…
-
U.S. Resumes Ties with Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office: An Opportunity That Requires Institutional Reforms
The recent visit to Washington by Guatemala’s Attorney General, Gabriel García Luna, accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda Sandoval, marks an important shift in the relationship between Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and U.S. security and justice agencies. After several years in which institutional cooperation was limited due to concerns about the deterioration of the rule…
-
Five Outcomes of Colombia’s First Round Presidential Elections
On May 31, Colombians voted in the first round of their presidential elections. Here are some of the main takeaways. The Outsider Candidate’s Surprise Win Of the five presidential contenders, far-right outsider candidate Albelardo de la Espriella secured 43.74% of the vote in Colombia’s first-round presidential election, setting up a June 21 runoff against leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda, who received…
Features
Explore articles, explainers and human-centered stories about the region.
-
Turning Tragedy into Transformation: LGBTQ+ Activism and Justice in Latin America
Across Latin America, LGBTQ+ individuals have faced discrimination, violence, and exclusion from political and social institutions. Yet, they have also been at the forefront of movements demanding justice, recognition, and equality. Recent developments in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia demonstrate both the persistent challenges confronting LGBTQ+ communities and the transformative impact of their activism. From the pursuit of accountability for political violence to groundbreaking legal victories…
-
Condor’s Legacy, “Teseo,” and Assassination in Washington DC that Could Have Been Prevented
It was horrendous enough that a South American military dictator sent assassins to the U.S. capital to kill Chile’s most prominent exile leader, together with a young woman who was an American citizen. When a bomb exploded in a car rounding Sheridan Circle on Washington’s Embassy Row on September 21, 1976, it was the first terrorist attack by a foreign power to occur in the U.S. capital. The public spectacle and…
-
The Global Anti-Rights Agenda in Latin America
When WOLA set its new strategic priorities in 2024, we consciously included promoting LGBTQ+ rights and gender diversity on the list. This decision would prove to be increasingly relevant. Within months, the president of Argentina would equate “gender ideology” to “child abuse” on the international stage, and the incoming administration in the United States would move to erase legal transgender identities . But attacks on the LGBTQ+ community are not necessarily new…
-
Venezuela After January 3: Two Truths That Require the Attention of the International Community
The Facts In the early morning of January 3, we woke to an event we no longer believed possible in this century: a U.S. military attack on a South American capital. The attack culminated in the capture of Venezuela’s de facto president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and their subsequent transfer to New York to stand trial on…
Q&A
Our Q&A section features interviews with experts and advocates across the Americas
-
Q&A on Venezuela: Two things can hold true, and Venezuelans need support now
In contexts of deep political polarization, WOLA aims to provide elements for an objective analysis rooted in universal principles. Treating human rights as ideological markers rather than internationally recognized standards erodes democracy. We see two realities that can hold true simultaneously. On the one hand, the U.S. military action in Venezuela is contrary to international law and forms part of…
-
Q&A with WOLA’s Director for the Andes and this year’s Louis B. Sohn Human Rights Award recipient, Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
The landmark Inter-American Court ruling in favor of displaced Afro-Colombian communities, the five-year delay of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, which forced a reduction in the killing of trade unionists and the protection of Afro-descendant workers, and the inclusion of the ethnic chapter within Colombia’s peace agreement. You may know these victories—but you might not know that Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli was…
-
Uncertain Path to the Polls: Integrity and Trust at Risk in Honduras’s 2025 Elections
Honduras will hold general elections on November 30 amid growing political tensions and concerns over electoral integrity. Conflicts among members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the controversial roles of the Public Ministry, the Armed Forces, and the National Congress have heightened uncertainty about the credibility of the electoral process. The role of the international community has become increasingly…
-
Q&A: Breakdown of the Rising Tensions Between the U.S. and Brazil Over the Bolsonaro Ruling
On September 11, Brazil’s Supreme Court found former President Jair Bolsonaro guilty, sentencing him to 27 years and three months in prison. The Court convicted him on several counts, including: armed criminal conspiracy, attempted abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d’état, violent destruction of public property, and damage to protected national heritage sites. Seven of Bolsonaro’s allies,…
