The past month was packed with key moments for both policymakers and civil society in the region.

This edition of our monthly newsletter covers WOLA’s programmatic work and regional events from mid-December through the end of January.


** Latin America in Review:
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As we entered 2022, our experts at WOLA compiled an analysis of the Biden administration’s first year successes and shortfalls. While we’ve seen a welcome shift in rhetoric from the Trump years, the administration has failed to take the bold approach needed to change course in many critical areas. Notably, the continuation of “enforcement first” approaches from the Trump era, such as “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42, have resulted in the return of tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers to danger.

WOLA undertook urgent work with partners and El Espectador to raise awareness of the violence that marked the start of the year in Arauca, Colombia, where a lack of true social investment and government protection is costing lives, with at least 33 people killed on the first weekend of 2022. On Venezuela, WOLA and other civil society organizations denounced efforts by the Maduro government to suppress the constitutional right of citizens to pursue an electoral referendum, yet another sign of the absence of democracy in the country.

With continuous human rights abuses in the region, we look to two recent events in Central America with hope: the election of the first woman president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and the Maya Achi trial verdict marking a victory in the process of transitional justice in Guatemala. While President Castro certainly faces many challenges, especially in anti-corruption efforts, and the trials in Guatemala should mark only the beginning of a larger search for justice for victims of conflict, we take these moments to recognize the power in civil society organizations and individuals committed to furthering human rights in the region.

Stay up to date with our expert programming by visiting our website ([link removed]) and following us on Twitter ([link removed]) and Facebook ([link removed]) .


** Our Partners in Action:
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“They've valued our testimonies. We told the truth."
- Pedrina Lopez among Maya Achi victims of sexual violence in landmark transitional justice victory in Guatemala.
On January, 24, 2022, five ex-paramilitaries were sentenced 30 years each in prison for crimes against humanity at the height of Guatemala’s long civil conflict.

WOLA Senior Fellow Dr. Jo-Marie Burt has been in Guatemala City documenting the trial for Verdad y Justicia en Guatemala ([link removed]) , which monitors and reports on war crimes prosecutions in Guatemala.

Read the TIME article on the victory here ([link removed]) .

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“I’m 25-years-old and my entire life I’ve lived in the midst of armed conflict,”
- social leader Myerly Briceño joins WOLA and Colombian daily newspaper El Espectador for a panel on the dire humanitarian situation in Arauca.

Civil society leaders and experts convened to inform the international community about the realities being lived in Arauca after an outbreak of violence that marked the beginning of 2022 in the department.
Watch the event on YouTube here ([link removed]) .


** WOLA in Action:
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** 🎙 Recent Podcasts 🎙
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Listen now ([link removed])


** More from our experts:
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DIRE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN ARAUCA: ([link removed]) Social Investment is the Path to Peace in Arauca, Colombia

STATE OF “REMAIN IN MEXICO” ([link removed]) : Weekly U.S.-Mexico Border Update: Remain in Mexico, Removal Flights, Asylum in Mexico, Texas National Guard

U.S. POLICY IN VENEZUELA: ([link removed]) Best, worst, and status quo scenarios for 2022 in Venezuela

WOLA Senior Fellow and consultant Jo-Marie Burt is now a regular columnist for the Peruvian daily publication La República. You can read her bimonthly columns on Peruvian politics and human rights on Tuesdays.

Read her latest piece: Violencia sexual como arma de guerra ([link removed])


** WOLA in the News
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On the landmark verdict in the case of the Maya Achi sexual violence trials: “[The next target should be] the people who put this whole strategy in motion… [Mass rapes] were the result of the strategy deployed by the Guatemalan army during the internal armed conflict to defeat the guerrillas,” Dr. Jo-Marie Burt, WOLA Senior Fellow, in TIME ([link removed]) .

“There’s still a lot of influence of organized crime, influence of drug cartels… Illicit networks that are made up of an alliance between politicians and organized crime are working within the government. We see a lot of hope in this new administration. We see that Xiomara Castro has made some great promises. We know what she wants to do, but the how is the key question that we have.” - Ana María Méndez Dardón, Director for Central America, in The Washington Post ([link removed]) .

On the killings of eco-activists in Colombia: “Many of the victims are Indigenous leaders targeted by drug cartels, leftist guerrillas, and right-wing paramilitaries who seek to exert control over ancestral lands for producing and trafficking narcotics. The vast majority of drugs produced in Colombia flow north and eventually cross the southern border into the United States.” - Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, WOLA Director for the Andes, in the Sierra Club ([link removed]) .

On increased U.S. border apprehensions of Colombians: “It’s happened over the past year with Brazilians, Ecuadorians and Venezuelans, and in each case the U.S. leaned on Mexico to reinstate visa requirements for those countries,” Isacson said. “I think it’s just a matter of time for Colombians.” - Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight, in The Washington Post ([link removed]) .

“The problem is that electoral participation is the issue that most divides the opposition… They decided to go to the 2021 regional elections, but making minimal effort to unify candidacies and actually seeking to discourage the vote,” David Smilde, WOLA Senior Fellow, in ABC News ([link removed]) .
“...there’s a lot of oil in Arauca, which means there’s a lot of extractive businesses that armed groups could extort… Arauca is a stronghold of the ELN inside Colombia, and [when I] visited in 2019, [I] was told a non-aggression truce between the ELN and FARC dissidents was in place there. That non-aggression agreement is clearly over as of this past weekend. Why now? Probably the ex-FARC have gotten stronger, especially the 10th Front dissidents who stood their ground against the Venezuelan forces last year ([link removed]) , and now they have a bigger presence.” - Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight, in Aljazeera ([link removed]) .


** WOLA Campaign Updates
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The latest installment of the Central America Monitor, a concerted effort between WOLA and its counterparts in the region, reveals challenges and opportunities for rule of law, citizen security, and protection of human rights in the Northern Triangle. By assessing, through data, the impact of policies and strategies, the Monitor seeks to provide tools to identify opportunities for improving the living conditions of these countries’ residents by strengthening institutions and the fight for justice.
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🇲🇽 Explore our investigative report on how Mexico’s flagship law to address its historic disappearance crisis remains under-applied in criminal investigations throughout the country here ([link removed]) .

🇻🇪 Through #StandFor6Million ([link removed]) , WOLA featured the work of civil society organizations in six Latin American countries to identify gaps in their governments’ responses to fleeing Venezuelans, denounce inhumane and counterproductive policies, and work to address the needs of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in their host countries.

👣 Sign up here ([link removed]) for weekly border and migration updates from our experts. Read our past updates here ([link removed]) .

🇨🇴 Stay updated on the Con Líderes Hay Paz ([link removed]) campaign by signing up ([link removed]) for our campaign newsletters or follow the #ConLíderesHayPaz hashtag on social media.


** Upcoming Events
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View all upcoming and past events hosted by WOLA on our website or by subscribing to our newsletter.

Feeding the Fire: How Prohibition and the Drug War Fuel Corruption and Organized Crime in Latin America
(Fifth installment of our series Decades of Damage Done: the Drug War Catastrophe in Latin America and the Caribbean ([link removed]) )

Wednesday, February 9, 2022
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST
Register here ([link removed])
All Events ([link removed])
Ways to give ([link removed])
Contact:
Kimberly Durón
Assistant Director for Content Production
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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