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.
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Curtailing Civic Space: Tightening Restrictions on Civil Society in the Americas
Download the full report as a PDF here. Introduction The last few months have been marked by aggressive measures by…
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Improving Country of Origin Information for Asylum Adjudicators
Prepared by the Temple Law Asylum Project and the Washington Office on Latin America Download the full white paper here. …
Perspectives
Read unique perspectives on pressing human rights challenges shaping Latin America
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The Trump Administration’s Unprecedented Military Deployment in Los Angeles Echoes the Overreach We’ve Long Opposed in Latin America
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) was founded in 1974, at a time when nearly every country in Latin…
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The Supreme Court’s decision on TPS for Venezuelans: What does it mean and what happens now?
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused a federal court ruling from California that had blocked the…
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The Road to the Judicial Elections in Mexico
Introduction Through a controversial constitutional reform, Mexico has adopted an unprecedented system in which all judges across the country’s judicial…
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Colombian Dissident ELN Guerrillas Agree to Disarm, Although Total Peace Remains Elusive
On April 6, the Comuneros del Sur—dissidents of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) in Colombia’s Nariño…
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A Spectacle, Not a Solution: Three Things You Should Know About Bukele’s “Offer” to Maduro
On the night of April 20, Nayib Bukele proposed a “humanitarian agreement” to Nicolás Maduro via X: the repatriation of…
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Four Reasons Why the U.S. Should be Concerned about What’s Happening in El Salvador
Today, on April 14, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele will visit the White House per special invitation from President Donald…
Features
Explore articles, explainers and human-centered stories about the region.
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Coca Chronicles #5: The UN Coca Leaf Review and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Can the WHO Meet the Moment? Will the WHO confront its colonial legacy and right a historic wrong? The critical…
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The State of Trans Rights Across the Americas: Recognition, Contradiction, Violence, and Backsliding
In recent years, the state of trans rights across the Americas has been marked by a striking pattern of historic…
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Key Facts About the Experience of LGBTIQ+ Migrants
How societies welcome their most vulnerable tells us much about their strength and capacity to prosper and thrive. Do nations…
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$160 Billion to Detain and Deport: Congress’s “Reconciliation” Bill is a Betrayal of Priorities and Will Harm the Most Vulnerable
Early on Thursday May 22, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill with a historically massive mix of budget…
Q&A
Our Q&A section features interviews with experts and advocates across the Americas
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Travel Ban and its impact for the nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. What you need to know.
What does the President’s proclamation of June 4, 2025 do? The proclamation issued by President Trump on June 4, imposes…
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Mass Incarceration and Democratic Deterioration: Three Years of the State of Exception in El Salvador
On March 27, 2022, at the request of President Nayib Bukele, the Legislative Assembly passed a state of exception, limiting…
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Tariffs, Fentanyl, and Migration: Updates on U.S.-Mexico Relations after Trump’s First Month in Office
In December, WOLA examined what Donald Trump’s proposed policies on fentanyl and the U.S.-Mexico border might mean for Mexico, raising…
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Q&A: A Year in Review for Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo
As President Bernardo Arévalo enters his second year in office, Guatemala faces a challenging political landscape. His first year was…
