Latin America in Review: Human Rights Abuses During COVID-19 | Migrants at Risk | Regional Health Cooperation
This month has seen an increase in coverage of and regional reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the spread of the virus in Latin America, there have been new human rights and public health challenges:
  • The Trump administration has used the pandemic as a pretext for pushing through aggressive border and migration policies that further endanger the lives of migrants and create new hotspots in both the United States and in Latin America.
  • Leaders are using the pandemic to force through their agendas and consolidate their power, in defiance of constitutional rights and legal norms. 
  • People in vulnerable situations, including ethnic communities, incarcerated individuals, and others with poor access to heath services are facing even more inequality, insecurity, and health challenges than before.
  • Efforts to bolster investments in healthcare systems across the region are being hampered by corruption and impunity, especially in the absence of effective anti-corruption institutions.
WOLA will continue to monitor and advocate for human rights in the region amidst this unprecedented public health emergency. We hope you join us.

You can also stay up-to-date on the latest news about our work and community by visiting our website and following us on social media.

WOLA in Action
The COVID-19 pandemic is having serious consequences for democracy, equality, and human rights in Latin America. Actions that are taken by governments today will have long-term impact. WOLA is monitoring challenges to human rights, raising questions, and holding governments accountable.
Adam Isacson, WOLA's Director for Defense Oversight, wrote a piece for Wold Politics Review on how Trump's immigration crackdown is creating new coronavirus hotspots. Read on Business Insider.
Teresa García Castro, Senior Program Associate at WOLA, was interviewed on FRANCE24 to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incarcerated women in Latin America. Watch the full interview.
Gimena Sánchez, WOLA's Director for the Andes, moderated a virtual panel focused on the fight for the rights of Brazilian ethnic and minority groups during COVID-19. Watch on YouTube.

From Our Experts
Monitoring Anti-Democratic Trends and Human Rights Abuses in the Age of COVID-19
Read the Commentary
MIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY: The Trump Administration’s COVID-19 Response at the Border Puts Us All At Risk 

U.S. ASYLUM POLICY: WOLA Comment on Interim CDC Rule Suspending Entry of People into the U.S.

DRUG POLICY IN COLOMBIA: Colombia Pushes Coca Eradication During COVID-19 Pandemic

U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS: In the Midst of an Unprecedented Global Pandemic, Politicizing Cuba’s COVID-19 Response is Counterproductive

COLOMBIAN SOCIAL LEADERS: COVID-19 and Human Rights in Colombia

COVID-19 AND DEPORTATION: U.S. Deportations During Global Pandemic Risk Spreading COVID-19

HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA: Evaluating State Capacity to Protect and Promote Human Rights in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador

TRANS RIGHTS AND INCARCERATION: Trans Women Deprived of Liberty: Invisible Stories Behind Bars

ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES IN MEXICO: Five Years On, What’s Still Missing from Mexico’s National Anti-Corruption System?

VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS: In Responding to the Global Pandemic, Fleeing Venezuelans Fall Through the Cracks

REGIONAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19: A Critical Moment for Regional Health Cooperation in the Americas

HEALTH POLICY AND INCARCERATION: COVID-19: A Potential Death Sentence for Women Behind Bars in Latin America

U.S. COUNTERDRUG POLICY: Q&A: Putting U.S. Counterdrug Operations in the Caribbean in Context

WOLA in the News
 

"The U.S. has ignored its legal obligations and ended asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border, leaving tens of thousands of asylum seekers stranded in crowded Mexican border dwellings. Counterproductive U.S. pressure and political polarization have stifled efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela during the pandemic—along the way closing avenues to dialogue.” - Mario Moreno, Vice President for Communications, and Geoff Thale, President of WOLA in Univision

“It is irresponsible for the U.S. to be deporting migrants to countries who are ill-equipped to address a public-health crisis that could be provoked by deportees with undetected cases of the virus.” - Maureen Meyer, Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights in The Wall Street Journal

“Regardless of the political crisis, regardless of the fact that [Nicolás] Maduro is an authoritarian leader who lacks a democratic mandate, there are millions of lives at stake in Venezuela.” - Geoff Ramsey, Director for Venezuela in NPR

“The president [of El Salvador] has over time, in part buoyed by his popularity, increasingly tried to concentrate authority in his own hands and to ignore the separation of powers and the appropriate roles of other constitutional bodies.” - Geoff Thale, President of WOLA in NYT.

Beyond the Wall Campaign Update
In April, WOLA advocated for human rights on and beyond the border, especially against the unlawful and dangerous actions taken by the U.S. government in the midst of a global pandemic. 

Using COVID-19 as a pretext, the Trump administration has ramped up its cruel policies, endangering our entire region. WOLA is monitoring and analyzing data about COVID-19 cases in detention centers. We've also discussed the impact the pandemic has had on migrant shelters in Mexico in our BEYOND THE WALL podcast segment.
 
Join the BEYOND THE WALL campaign to learn more.

Upcoming Events
Thursday, April 30
Webinar–Colombia’s Defiant Peace Communities: Strategies for Consolidating Peace Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Wednesday, September 22
2020 WOLA Human Rights Awards Ceremony and Benefit Gala
 
All Events
Contact:
Gabriela Sibori
Communications Assistant
+1 (202) 797-2171
[email protected]
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