Podcasts about latin america wola

En EEUU, las deportaciones de migrantes durante el año fiscal 2024 alcanzaron niveles récords desde 2014. Superan incluso los años del primer mandato de Donald Trump que, sin embargo, ha acusado a los demócratas de ser débiles en la lucha contra la inmigración ilegal. ¿Cómo se explica el aumento de las deportaciones? Con más de 271.000 migrantes deportados a su país de origen, la administración del presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, que concluirá a principios de enero, alcanzó una cifra récord en una década, superando el pico de deportaciones de 2019 bajo el primer mandato de Donald Trump.Un récord que se debe, según Maureen Meyer, vicepresidenta para Programas en el Centro de análisis Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a una mayor cooperación de los países de donde proceden los migrantes."La mayoría de estos migrantes proceden de México, Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras. Los países centroamericanos son los que han aceptado un mayor número de vuelos de deportación. Hay una voluntad de estos países de aceptar más gente y también en ese sentido, el Gobierno de Biden lleva mucho tiempo tratando de negociar con países que han sido más reticentes a aceptar a sus conciudadanos", explica a RFI. Donald Trump promete aumentar todavía más las deportaciones Para su segundo mandato, Donald Trump prometió la deportación más importante de la historia. Sin embargo, el presidente republicano se topará con varios obstáculos logísticos y legales, recalca Maureen Meyer."Actualmente no tiene los recursos necesarios para poder costear el número de deportaciones que quiere llevar a cabo porque se necesitan muchos más agentes, no hay espacio suficiente en los centros de retención para alojar a tantas personas antes de su regreso a su país, implica muchos fondos para financiar el lado logístico", explica Meyer. "No se sabe si se van a hacer redadas pero hay mucha implicación económica", y es que la mayoría de los  indocumentados trabajan en sectores muy importantes como la agricultura o la construcción. Si algunos estados conservadores como Texas cooperan con las deportaciones, otras entidades federales como California, Illinois o Maryland limitan la cooperación con Washington porque consideran que los inmigrantes, aunque indocumentados, ocupan empleos que desdeñan los estadounidenses.

En EEUU, las deportaciones de migrantes durante el año fiscal 2024 alcanzaron niveles récords desde 2014. Superan incluso los años del primer mandato de Donald Trump que, sin embargo, ha acusado a los demócratas de ser débiles en la lucha contra la inmigración ilegal. ¿Cómo se explica el aumento de las deportaciones? Con más de 271.000 migrantes deportados a su país de origen, la administración del presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, que concluirá a principios de enero, alcanzó una cifra récord en una década, superando el pico de deportaciones de 2019 bajo el primer mandato de Donald Trump.Un récord que se debe, según Maureen Meyer, vicepresidenta para Programas en el Centro de análisis Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a una mayor cooperación de los países de donde proceden los migrantes."La mayoría de estos migrantes proceden de México, Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras. Los países centroamericanos son los que han aceptado un mayor número de vuelos de deportación. Hay una voluntad de estos países de aceptar más gente y también en ese sentido, el Gobierno de Biden lleva mucho tiempo tratando de negociar con países que han sido más reticentes a aceptar a sus conciudadanos", explica a RFI. Donald Trump promete aumentar todavía más las deportaciones Para su segundo mandato, Donald Trump prometió la deportación más importante de la historia. Sin embargo, el presidente republicano se topará con varios obstáculos logísticos y legales, recalca Maureen Meyer."Actualmente no tiene los recursos necesarios para poder costear el número de deportaciones que quiere llevar a cabo porque se necesitan muchos más agentes, no hay espacio suficiente en los centros de retención para alojar a tantas personas antes de su regreso a su país, implica muchos fondos para financiar el lado logístico", explica Meyer. "No se sabe si se van a hacer redadas pero hay mucha implicación económica", y es que la mayoría de los  indocumentados trabajan en sectores muy importantes como la agricultura o la construcción. Si algunos estados conservadores como Texas cooperan con las deportaciones, otras entidades federales como California, Illinois o Maryland limitan la cooperación con Washington porque consideran que los inmigrantes, aunque indocumentados, ocupan empleos que desdeñan los estadounidenses.

Maduro is desperately trying to hold onto power in Venezuela even though the most recent elections show a clear win for the opposition. Protests have erupted in the streets with a corresponding crackdown. How did one of the world's most oil rich countries spill into an economic and humanitarian crisis in the first place? Who is Maria Corina Machado and how does she represent the role of women in the attempt to revive democracy in Venezuela overall? Why is she different than other women leaders in Latin America? What could the impact be on immigration to the US, and what role should the US play? What does this situation say about what younger generations are looking for in global leaders? Featuring Carolina Jimenez Sandoval of Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Katrina Burgess of The Fletcher School at Tufts University Generously sponsored by Walker Advertising, Stream Inspectors, and Empower Global. http://www.womensleadershipchallenge.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/samanthropolitics/support

Nearly 75 years after the United Nations called for the abolition of  coca leaf chewing, the world will have an opportunity to correct this grave historic error. The World Health Organization (WHO), at  the Plurinational State of Bolivia's request,  and supported by Colombia, will conduct a ‘critical review' of the coca leaf over the next year. Based on its findings, the WHO may recommend changes in coca's classification under the UN drug control treaties. The WHO recommendations would be submitted for approval by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), with voting likely in 2026.  The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) will be monitoring the coca review process closely and examining key aspects of the debate. As part of this we are producing a series called “Coca Chronicles”. The first issue of the Coca Chronicles discussed the current classification of the coca leaf in Schedule I of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (or its effective ban) and Bolivia's initiation of the WHO critical review process. The second issue highlighted three developments during the March 2024 CND session: (1) support for the coca review from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; (2) Bolivia's call to protect the coca leaf as a genetic resource; and (3) an update on the WHO's preparations for the review.  In this third issue, Anthropologist Wade Davis gives us a deep dive into the history and significance of the coca leaf in the Andean Amazon region.  Wade Davis is a Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, photographer, and writer. He is professor of anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. He is a multiple award-winning author of more than 25 books, and has done extensive research into coca leaf, among many other ethnobotanic explorations.  

On Episode 10 of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Jo-Marie Burt, professor of political science and Latin American studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University about Guatemala's presidential elections.  Guatemalans will vote on 20 August in the second round of the presidential elections in which establishment candidate Sandra Torres is pitted against outsider Bernardo Arevalo. We discuss the complex tangle of Guatemala's political landscape, the symbolic significance of Arevalo's surprise success in the first round and how the corporate authoritarian elites might swing the elections to their favoured candidate.    Show Notes: • Pact of the Corrupt • Corporate Authoritarian System • Backgrounds of Bernardo Arevalo & Sandra Torres • Guatamalan illicit trade   Jo-Marie Burt is associate professor of political science and Latin American studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. At Mason, she has served as director of Latin American studies, co-director of the Center for Global Studies, and associate chair for undergraduate studies. She is an affiliate faculty in global affairs, Latin American studies, conflict analysis and resolution, and women and gender studies. Burt is also a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a leading human rights research and advocacy organization.

Varias organizaciones internacionales de derechos humanos advierten de irregularidades en el proceso electoral de Guatemala.  La autoridad electoral de Guatemala rechazó la inscripción de candidatos a la presidencia para las elecciones del próximo 25 de junio basándose en motivos dudosos que critican las organizaciones Este 25 de junio, más de nueve millones de guatemaltecos están llamados a las urnas en un proceso no exento de irregularidades y controversias. Organizaciones de la sociedad civil critican la irresponsabilidad de partidos políticos e incumplimientos de las autoridades electorales. La Misión de Observación Electoral de Guatemala (MOE-Gt) alertó que la creciente judicialización y numerosas irregularidades del actual proceso electoral de ese país pueden derivar en que este pierda totalmente su integridad y legitimidad.Carolina Jiménez, directora de la Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) ha señalado en la antena de RFI: "ha habido diversos obstáculos para impedir la candidatura de diversas personas y luego, otras personas cuyas candidaturas fueron inhabilitadas en el pasado, esta vez sí han sido permitidas para concursar en la elección. Estos criterios arbitrarios lesionan el derecho a la participación política".Entre enero y mayo, El Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) de Guatemala y las cortes del país dejaron fuera de la contienda a la líder indígena de izquierda Thelma Cabrera, quien poseía fuertes posibilidades de acceder a una segunda vuelta presidencial, según expertos. Además, el candidato de derecha Roberto Arzú García-Granados, hijo del expresidente Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen (1996-2000), fue excluido por un caso de campaña anticipada, que según expertos pudo ser resuelto con sanciones menos severas.Juan Papier, subdirector para las Américas de HRW subraya en RFI: "Lo que está sucediendo en Guatemala es que gobierna un proyecto político cuya principal causa es la impunidad por hechos de corrupción y abuso de poder. Han perseguido a los jueces y fiscales independientes que se atreven a investigar o exponer la corrupción y han tomado venganza con aquellos que investigaron estos casos en el pasaso y ahora van a por los periodistas independientes que publican sobre estos casos en Guatemala y el caso último más conocido es el de José Rubén Zamora, condenado a seis años de prisión por supuesto lavado de dinero. No es una investigación por una transacción sino una persecucción del ministerio público que hace todo lo posible por silenciarlo". En un comunicado conjunto, HRW y Wola  señalan que las elecciones en Guatemala se realizarán en medio de un "contexto de deterioro del estado"En  este contexto, en pocos días los guatemaltecos tendrán que elegir a su nuevo presidente, vicepresidente, 160 diputados, 340 corporaciones municipales y 20 representantes al Parlamento Centroamericano (PARLACEN).  

On today's Intrigue Outloud, Carolina Jiménez Sandoval joins to discuss the different ways Latin American leaders are approaching Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's re-emergence, what those different approaches say about politics in the region, and where the efforts to bring democracy back to Venezuela now stand. Carolina Jiménez Sandoval is the president of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a former deputy research director for the Americas at Amnesty International, and a citizen of Venezuela. The Search for Justice in Venezuela by Carolina. Thanks to our sponsor, Drizly.

Un juez estadounidense falló a favor del fin del famoso Título 42, la medida que ha bloqueado la entrada a miles de migrantes por razones de salud pública. El gobierno de Joe Biden tiene ahora cinco semanas para prepararse a abrir el paso por su frontera. El próximo 21 de diciembre se suspende por orden del juez Emmet Sullivan el polémico Título 42, la legislación impulsada por Donald Trump para mantener fuera de Estados Unidos a miles de migrantes por sospechas de Covid, y que Joe Biden y el departamento de Seguridad Nacional siguieron aplicando. Control del flujo de migrantes “El compromiso de campaña de Biden era restaurar el acceso al asilo en la frontera y no obstante, lo seguían usando para personas de México, de Centroamérica, y recientemente lo expandieron incluso para personas de Venezuela. Dejó en claro que el Título 42 ya no es una medida de salud pública, sino algo que el Gobierno estaba usando para controlar el flujo de personas llegando a la frontera y quienes podían entrar en el país”, explica a RFI Maureen Meyers, vicepresidenta de Programas en Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), una organización pro derechos humanos. “Entonces, sí ha sido este un gran reto para el Gobierno, ser más consistentes entre sus compromisos de asegurar que cada persona que necesita protección tenga la posibilidad de acercarse a la frontera y por otro lado, seguir usando medidas que para ellos era un beneficio porque bajaban el número de personas migrantes llegando a Estados Unidos”, prosigue. Condiciones peligrosas en México El juez, Emmet Sullivan, dictaminó que esta medida era “arbitraria y caprichosa”, y dijo acceder con “mucha renuencia” al pedido del gobierno de Joe Biden de seguir aplicando el llamado Título 42 en la frontera con México cinco semanas más, para poder prepararse frente a una temida avalancha de migrantes, en su inmensa mayoría latinoamericanos. Según Maureen Meyers, “hay dos temas principales de la resolución del juez”. Por un lado, “el Gobierno nunca logró comprobar el beneficio de la salud pública con la medida”. Por otro lado, “el Gobierno sabía de los peligros que implicaba expulsar a esas personas a México”, “a ciudades peligrosas, donde eran sujetas a muchos delitos como secuestro, robo y asalto sexual”. Ahora, recalca la experta, “cualquier persona de cualquier nacionalidad podría acercarse a la frontera a buscar protección”, y “estas personas ya no estarían expulsadas a estas condiciones tan peligrosas en muchas ciudades fronterizas mexicanas”. El fallo del martes fue en respuesta a una demanda presentada en enero por la Unión Estadounidense de Libertades Civiles (ACLU), que acusa al DHS y a la Patrulla Fronteriza de "expulsión sumaria" de familias vulnerables que buscan asilo y que no muestran signos de infección por Covid.

Un juez estadounidense falló a favor del fin del famoso Título 42, la medida que ha bloqueado la entrada a miles de migrantes por razones de salud pública. El gobierno de Joe Biden tiene ahora cinco semanas para prepararse a abrir el paso por su frontera. El próximo 21 de diciembre se suspende por orden del juez Emmet Sullivan el polémico Título 42, la legislación impulsada por Donald Trump para mantener fuera de Estados Unidos a miles de migrantes por sospechas de Covid, y que Joe Biden y el departamento de Seguridad Nacional siguieron aplicando. Control del flujo de migrantes “El compromiso de campaña de Biden era restaurar el acceso al asilo en la frontera y no obstante, lo seguían usando para personas de México, de Centroamérica, y recientemente lo expandieron incluso para personas de Venezuela. Dejó en claro que el Título 42 ya no es una medida de salud pública, sino algo que el Gobierno estaba usando para controlar el flujo de personas llegando a la frontera y quienes podían entrar en el país”, explica a RFI Maureen Meyers, vicepresidenta de Programas en Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), una organización pro derechos humanos. “Entonces, sí ha sido este un gran reto para el Gobierno, ser más consistentes entre sus compromisos de asegurar que cada persona que necesita protección tenga la posibilidad de acercarse a la frontera y por otro lado, seguir usando medidas que para ellos era un beneficio porque bajaban el número de personas migrantes llegando a Estados Unidos”, prosigue. Condiciones peligrosas en México El juez, Emmet Sullivan, dictaminó que esta medida era “arbitraria y caprichosa”, y dijo acceder con “mucha renuencia” al pedido del gobierno de Joe Biden de seguir aplicando el llamado Título 42 en la frontera con México cinco semanas más, para poder prepararse frente a una temida avalancha de migrantes, en su inmensa mayoría latinoamericanos. Según Maureen Meyers, “hay dos temas principales de la resolución del juez”. Por un lado, “el Gobierno nunca logró comprobar el beneficio de la salud pública con la medida”. Por otro lado, “el Gobierno sabía de los peligros que implicaba expulsar a esas personas a México”, “a ciudades peligrosas, donde eran sujetas a muchos delitos como secuestro, robo y asalto sexual”. Ahora, recalca la experta, “cualquier persona de cualquier nacionalidad podría acercarse a la frontera a buscar protección”, y “estas personas ya no estarían expulsadas a estas condiciones tan peligrosas en muchas ciudades fronterizas mexicanas”. El fallo del martes fue en respuesta a una demanda presentada en enero por la Unión Estadounidense de Libertades Civiles (ACLU), que acusa al DHS y a la Patrulla Fronteriza de "expulsión sumaria" de familias vulnerables que buscan asilo y que no muestran signos de infección por Covid.

In another exciting episode of the Colombia Calling podcast, we prioritize all questions put to us by our Patreon supporters (www.patreon.com/colombiacalling) and answer all of your queries regarding the future government and potential policies of Colombia's president-elect Gustavo Petro. This in an unedited recording with myself and journalist Emily Hart and the voice files kindly submitted by experts in their fields, Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, the leading Colombia human rights advocate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Kyle Johnson of Fundación Conflict Responses, CORE. We discuss security issues in Colombia, international business, financial flight under a leftist president, the vice president Francia Marquez, Petro's period as mayor of Bogotá, worst case scenarios, Alvaro Uribe and much more. News from journalist Emily Hart and a huge thank you to the excellent questions sent in my all of you.

Ante el posible fin del Título 42, aclaramos si todavía es necesario mantenerlo, si se ha usado como herramienta de control migratorio y qué podemos esperar cuando ya no esté vigente.Conversamos con Maureen Meyer, quien es vicepresidenta para Programas de The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) y trabaja en el desarrollo de prioridades políticas y estrategias para promover los derechos humanos y la justicia social en América Latina.

Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), discusses the U.S's competing narratives of the Southern border, their real effects on how Americans perceive migrants, and how the ideal of asylum is atrophying in the process.

Joy Olson, former Executive Director of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), returns to the Rational Middle—this time to discuss the under-represented phenomenon of migrant kidnappings: what it is, how it works, and the policies that make it worse.

The clear and intentionality in the processes of violence carried out upon African/a peoples as they are constituted around the world and its symmetry in form and function upon people who are categorized as native in the Americas is not without precedent. European modernity is responding to its disintegration and has been for over the past 500 years. A process that has its origins in the formation of the entity known as Europe, as it began to organize the loosely tied collection of tribes into nations all built upon continuities in a worldview that propel the interdependent logics that animates its systems, structures, and institutions: separation, intolerance, imperialism, colonialism, racialism, materialization, objectification, othering…dehumanizing, redefining human. But what must not be lost in this fact, its disintegration—the disintegration of a limited and flawed view of what it means to be human as promoted through the praxis of European modernity—is that at various times-specifically when people are most organized, this disintegration has been sped up by the forms of resistance that develop not simply as a reaction to the forces of violence that are used to maintain positions of authority [or limited notions of power], but are in fact responses birthed from deep ancestral duties and historical responsibilities toward humanity, nature and universe, that African/a people have demonstrated in thought and action across time and space. Of all the places we can look in the African/a world to see the conflict between the continued exertion and last gasps of legitimacy of a particularly limited understanding of what it means to be human and the ancestral and historical duty and responsibility to resist it, we look to Colombia. A battlefront, in all manifestations of the theoretical and practical application of the concept, between an imperial worldview and the continued resistance to the logics of this worldview. What we will hear next is a wide-ranging conversation that expands on the premise above, paying attention to the current state of Afro Colombian resistance. AWNP's Mwiza Munthali recently caught up with Charo Mina-Rojas and Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli where they explored the continuation of violence through the militarization of the police; the continued attacks on and killings of human rights defenders in indigenous and Afro-descendant communities; the historic role of the U.S. in arming the Colombian army; and much more. Charo Mina-Rojas is an Afro-Colombian human rights defender with more than two decades of experience in activism in national and international arenas. As the National Coordinator of Advocacy and Outreach for the Black Communities Process (PCN - Proceso de Communidades Negras) and a member of the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network, she works to empower Afro-Colombian women by educating them on their rights, increasing their access to justice and collecting accurate data on violence against Afro-Colombian women. Charo participated in Colombia's peace negotiations and has delivered talks and lectures across the world. Charo has addressed the United Nations Security Council on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and is a member of the Black Alliance for Peace. Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli is the leading Colombia human rights advocate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Ms. Sánchez is an expert on peace and illegal armed groups, internally displaced persons, human rights and ethnic minority rights. Our show was produced today in solidarity with the native/indigenous, African, and Afro-descended communities at Standing Rock; Venezuela; Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi; Brazil; the Avalon Village in Detroit; Colombia; Kenya; Palestine; South Africa; Ghana; Ayiti; and other places who are fighting for the protection of our land for the benefit of all people. Listen intently. Think critically. Act accordingly.

Joy Olson, the former Executive Director of The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) talks with host Loren Steffy about the current challenges at the border and how the public perception on the benefits and purpose of immigration can be shifted.

We are joined by Dr. Carol Conzelman for a mind-expanding conversation about the history of the drug war in the United States, her work studying coca and democracy in Bolivia, how to encourage critical thinking about drugs, and our human need to explore inner space. Then Emily and Sarah have a chat that starts with studying the habits of the common American wook and ends with a discussion of the apocalypse, per usual. Featured music is “Drugs R Bad” by What the Folk’s very own Emily Yates http://emilyyatesmusic.com/ ______________________________________________________________ Guest Bio: Dr. Caroline Conzelman is a cultural anthropologist and Senior Instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder with the Global Studies Residential Academic Program and the International Affairs Program. She directs a Study Abroad program in Bolivia and teaches courses on democracy, drug policy, globalization, sustainability, Latin America, and community engagement. She is Faculty Adviser for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Psychedelic Club, and Slow Food Youth. Since 2014, she has organized—together with students and colleagues—an all-day symposium to promote public education on ancient uses of cannabis and psychedelic plants and their modern political, economic, and therapeutic relevance. Since 1995, Conzelman has been a Volunteer Team Leader with the international grassroots development organization Global Volunteers, coordinating service learning programs in Jamaica, Ecuador, Italy, Tanzania, Ireland, and Cuba; she also served on their Board of Directors (seven years). Currently she is president of the international Board of Directors for the Andean Information Network out of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Carol can be reached at conzelma@colorado.edu _____________________________________________________________ Carol’s book recommendations: War and Drugs by The Role of Military Conflict in the Development of Substance Abuse By Dessa Bergen-Cico https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10260413-war-and-drugs From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs By Andrew Weil https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110490.From_Chocolate_to_Morphine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=1vJUQcV46m&rank=1 Organizations to follow and support: Drug Policy Alliance https://www.drugpolicy.org/ Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies https://maps.org/ Erowid https://www.erowid.org/ Transnational Institute https://www.tni.org/en International Drug Policy Consortium https://idpc.net/ Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA) https://www.wola.org/ Institute for Policy Studies https://ips-dc.org/

The U.S. policy of "Remain in Mexico", building the border wall, and the overall criminalization of Central American migrants and asylum seekers has produced a number human rights, economic, security, and administrative consequences on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. During the week of January 20th, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) staff and partners visited El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in order to observe and document the state of migration and migrant rights at the border. This interview was conducted with Adam Isacson, WOLA Director for Defense Oversight, in the early morning hours after a number of visits with U.S. Border Patrol, migrant shelters, and civil society partners who work on behalf of migrant rights. To learn more about the latest developments on the border and migrant rights, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our email newsletter.

This past August, several former commanders of Colombia's largely demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) released a video in which they announced a “new phase of armed struggle.” What this video signaled more than anything, was a clear reminder the peace accord is directly related to the conditions on the ground—the conditions of violence and poverty as they are proliferated and exacerbated by Colombia's elite and attendant corruption at various levels of government (https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/08/how-to-keep-the-colombian-peace-deal-alive-farc-duque-uribe-colombia/). In the words of one of the local residents—Luis, a seventy-three-year-old—living in one of the areas targeted for development, FARC, operating there since 1981, has long been viewed as “a useful group . . . they have been the presence of law in the face of state absence” (https://jacobinmag.com/2019/08/colombia-farc-hidroituango-demining-coca-campesinos). In areas, such as this, that have never seen police or government officials, the FARC organized communal work groups to fix local paths, imposed a minimum wage, resolved domestic disputes, and punished criminals. However, the dynamics of FARC presence in the area changed in the late 1990s to 2003, when right-wing paramilitary groups entered the region in force (https://jacobinmag.com/location/colombia). Today, AWNP's, Mwiza Munthali recently spoke with our friend and colleague, Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli. Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli is currently a Senior Associate for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), where she is the leading Colombia human rights advocate. We then turn our attention to Brazil, exploring the current sociopolitical and ecological crises and the implications of Afro Brazilians with Juliana Borges. In recent months, fires in the Amazon Rainforest have put a spotlight on the planetary harmful deforestation occurring there. Just before the September 23 United Nations Climate Action Summit, Human Rights Watch released the report Rainforest Mafias: How Violence and Impunity Fuel Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon. According to the report, “Every day, people in Brazil put themselves at risk to defend the Amazon rain-forest from illegal logging. … For Brazil to meet its Paris Agreement commitment, it will need to rein in the criminal groups that are driving much of the deforestation…”. Next, we will hear a talk delivered by Juliana Borges (https://uniondocs.org/people/juliana-borges/). Ms. Juliana Borges is an Afro-Brazilian researcher, writer, anthropologist, and activist working on issues related to racism, gender, drug policy, incarceration, and violence. She is part of the National Council of Brazilian Platform for Drug Policy Reform, a consultant at the Brazilian Bar Association/Sao Paulo Section on confrontation, monitoring, and memory of torture and violence. In addition, she recently published a book on Racism and the War of Drugs in Brazil, titled, “Encarceramento em Massa (Feminismos Plurais),” a book from the “Plural Feminisms” collection. She is a consultant for the Perseu Abramo Foundation in the area of violence studies, and a consultant for the project “They exist—women in prison,” which works in Rio de Janeiro women's prisons (https://sur.conectas.org/en/black-women-under-fire/). Our show was produced today in solidarity with the Native/Indigenous, African, and Afro Descendant communities at Standing Rock; Venezuela; Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi; Brazil; the Avalon Village in Detroit; Colombia; Kenya; Palestine; South Africa; and Ghana and other places who are fighting for the protection of our land for the benefit of all peoples!

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Daniel Lazare, journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." On the second day of his three-day state visit to Britain, US President Donald Trump spoke with UK Prime Minister Theresa May while protesters mobilized in London. He said Tuesday that he believed Brexit would eventually happen, adding that Britain is “a very, very special place, and I think it deserves a special place.” During the press conference he also spoke on on a trade deal, Huawei, his critics and tariffs on Mexico. What are we to make of all of this? Trump says tariffs on Mexican imports will take effect next week, despite Mexican optimism for a deal, but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell is eyeing the potential for Trump's trade war to inflict damage on the United States economy, saying that the central bank is prepared to act to sustain the economic expansion if needed. How does all of this uncertainty portend for the US's economic future? "WOLA's hawkish stance on Venezuela may seem surprising for a 'human rights' organization, but it is less of a surprise for those familiar with WOLA's history." That comes from another great MintPress News story by writer Alex Rubinstein. He writes, "The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a self-described 'human rights' NGO, has been circulating a June 1 press release ostensibly urging the return of democracy to Venezuela." What's the significance of them taking this position?GUESTS:Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." Linwood Tauheed — Associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Teri Mattson — Activist with the Campaign to End US and Canadian Sanctions Against Venezuela.

Tonight, Sun., 12/23/18 meet Gimena Sanchez, Director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an independent organization that advocates for human rights in the Americas.:Also, we have Ofunshi Oba Kosso, Director of the Minnesota Yoruba Cuba Association and CEO of ApiRED. Mr. Kosso is an Afro-Cuban shaman, Ifa priest, advocate and Crystal Yuille, also with WOLA he recently co-wrote the article "The UN Decade on Afrodescendants Depends on Us". Today's theme will be:'Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic & Cuba: Africans & Indigenous'  Struggles'  

According to Joseph Jordan in his article, Afro-Colombia: A Case for Pan African Analysis, the early history of Africans in Colombia begins with the Spanish conquest and settlement of various areas in the early 1500s. The importation of Africans as an enslaved people, provided labor for this Spanish conquest and remained a vital component of Colombia's history until it was abolished in 1851. The formation of an Afro-Colombian identity built upon a tradition of resistance can linked to a continuous history of rebellions and the existence of independent maroon communities called palenque. According to Wade in The Cultural Politics of Blackness in Colombia, as in many other Latin American countries, in post-independence Colombia prior to the late twentieth century, the category negro had no institutional space in state practices governed by liberal ideologies of citizenship, which gave little room to ethnic difference among citizens. Indigenous people were, however, recognized as a specific category. Academics also did not pay attention to black as a category: anthropology focused on indigenous peoples; sociology attended to peasants and social classes; history, while it looked at “slaves”, did not encompass ‘Blacks' (Friedemann 1984). Yet the category negro existed in everyday practice to refer to categories of people. The geographer Agustín Codazzi referred in the 1850s to la raza negra that lived in the Pacific coastal region of the country, populated mainly by descendants of African slaves. The novelist Tomás Carrasquilla (1858-1940) included references to negros in his works (Wade 1993). In the mid-twentieth century, there was extensive press commentary about the music and danceassociated with los negros, which were becoming popular (Wade 2000). The term was not well defined, however. On the one hand, it could be very encompassing, as a term used by the elites to refer to the lower classes in general; on the other hand, it could be quite restrictive, as an insult directed against a particular person. Euphemisms such as moreno (brown) were common and in areas identified by observers as very black, such as the Pacific coastal region, locals referred to themselves as libres (free people) rather than negros (Losonczy 1997). Afro-Colombian communities and collective territories are mostly concentrated in the resource rich and geopolitically strategic regions of the country that continue to be the scenes of fierce disputes between armed groups. Along the Pacific coast the fight for the control and exploitation of collective lands by armed actors has meant that such communities have found themselves caught up in the cross fire or continuously on the front line of the conflict. Recently the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) hosted a discussion exploring the interdependence and complexities in the recent elections, the peace accord and AfroColombian communities. Anthony Dest, a PHD candidate at the university of Texas at Austin, who served as an election monitor during Colombia's June 17th presidential run-off election dissected what the elections mean for Afrodescendants and Indigenous Communities on the Pacifica Coast. This session was moderated by Gimena Sanchez, who is Senior Associate for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), where she is the leading Colombia human rights advocate.

The controversial presidential election in Peru is the centerpiece of discussion this week on Latin Pulse. The program includes two interviews recorded at the recent Latin American Studies Association (LASA) meetings in New York City with two of the top experts on Peruvian politics. Besides providing details about the two challengers Keiko Fujimori and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, the program also talks about the legacy of corruption left by Fujimori's father, Alberto, who once was Peru's dictator but is now serving time for his various crimes.  The program also discusses the recent scandals haunting the Fujimori campaign.The program includes in-depth interviews with:Cynthia McClintock of George Washington University; andJo-Marie Burt of George Mason University and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Production Assistant: Chorsie Martin. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.) podcastnewsLatin AmericapoliticsPerucorruptionelectionsDEATPPKeiko FujimoriAlberto FujimoritourismPedro Pablo KuczynskiDrug Enforcement Administrationhuman rightsPanama PapersDrug WarmediademocracyBarack ObamaOllanta HumalaHillary ClintonUnited StatesVladimiro Montesinospovertyeconomics

Justice, human rights and immigration policy regarding Central America provide the triple themes this week on Latin Pulse. The program focuses on the extradition case of Inocente Montano, a former colonel and leader for the Salvadoran military during El Salvador's civil war.  Spanish authorities want Montano sent to Spain to face human rights charges connected to the massacre of Jesuit priests at a university in San Salvador.  The program also looks at Congressional concerns over U.S. immigration policy in Central America. The news segment of the program reviews the controversial trade mission to Cuba of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.The program includes in-depth interviews with:Geoff Thale of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); andEric Olson of the Woodrow Wilson Center.Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Producer: Jim Singer; andProduction Assistant: Sierra Hancock.(To download or stream this podcast, click here.) (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.) podcastnewsLatin AmericadiplomacypoliticsGuatemalaHondurasjusticeimmigrationCubaCatholicsJesuitsMexicomilitaryUnited StatesBarack ObamaimpunitycrimeEl SalvadorpoliceCentral Americahuman rightsInocente Montanocivil wareconomicsviolencehomocidegangscorruptiontradeU.S. CongressInter-American Development Bankdeath squadsUnited NationsJoe Bidenmigrant childreneconomic developmentundocumented immigration

Turmoil in Venezuela and the progress in the peace talks for the civil war in Colombia are the twin themes this week on Latin Pulse. The first half of the program analyzes the politics surrounding the arrest of Mayor Antonio Ledezma of Caracas and how that arrest has drawn international reaction.  The second half of the program tracks the ongoing talks attempting to end the 51-year-old war in Colombia.  The news segment of the program covers the latest in the case of Alberto Nisman in Argentina and how a judge has set aside an indictment against the country's president.The program includes in-depth interviews with:Michael McCarthy of American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS); andAdam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Producer: Jim Singer; andProduction Assistant: Gabriela Canchola.(To download or stream this podcast, click here.) (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.) podcastnewsLatin AmericadiplomacyColombiaVenezuelaEcuadorpoliticsrepressionArgentinaAlberto NismanprotestUnited StatesBrazilprotest movementcivil warFARCCubajusticePeruterrorismeconomicsespionageUNASUROASJulio BorgesSalvador AllendeinflationSpain ChilemediacoupceasefiremilitaryweaponsimperialismJuan Manuel SantosCristina Fernandez de KirchnerNicolas MaduroAntonio LedezmaLeopoldo LopezJoe Bidenpeace talksErnesto SamperUnited NationsHugo Chavez

The historic changes between Cuba and the United States are rolling out but the Obama administration is also making aggressive diplomatic moves throughout Latin America.  That strategic shift provides the centerpiece for discussion on Latin Pulse this week. The program takes a wide-ranging view of the geopolitical situation in Latin America and provides a preview of the summit next week of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).  The news segment of the program focuses on the negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba and President Barack Obama's policy pronouncements on Cuba.The program includes in-depth interviews with:Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); andMichael McCarthy of American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Producer: Jim Singer; Engineering Support: Zach Kromer; andProduction Assistant: Gabriela Canchola.(To download or stream this podcast, click here.) (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.) podcastnewsLatin AmericaCubaMexicoGuatemaladiplomacytradeUnited StatestourismRaul CastrotravelCentral AmericaBarack ObamaU.S. CongressespionageAlan GrossNSAPope Francis Iran ChinaCanadaCELACBrazilBoliviaColombiaHondurasNicaraguaimmigrationVenezuelaeconomicspoliticscoupsOASPanamaJohn KerryJoe BidenDilma RousseffEvo MoralesEl SalvadorCosta RicaNicolas MaduroPatrick LeahyJeff FlakeRobert MenendezMarco RubioTed CruzEdward SnowdenLaura ChinchillaDaniel OrtegaMonroe DoctrineSummit of the AmericasU.S. State DepartmentChris Van HollenLuis Guillermo Solis

This week, Latin Pulse takes a deeper look at the disappearance of students from Ayotzinapa and Cuban migration to the United States. Global activists are protesting due to the disappearance of the 43 university students in Mexico. The situation is emblematic of decades of corruption and collusion in the Mexican government. This time, however, it appears the Mexican government will be held to account. Later in the program, Cuban immigrants are coming to the U.S. in higher numbers now than any time in the past 20 years. The program looks at the reason behind this increased immigrant flow.The program includes in-depth interviews with:Maureen Meyer of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA);William LeoGrande of American University.Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Producer: Jim Singer; andAssociate Producer: Gabriela Canchola.(To download or stream this podcast, click here.) (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.) podcastnewsLatin AmericaMexicoIgualaCubaviolenceEnrique Pena NietodisapperancescrimepolicemilitarymigrationimmigrationJose Luis AbarcaFelipe CalderoneducationjusticeimpunityrefugeeseconomicscartelsAgriculturecorruptionPRItourismremittancesinequalityoilebolaVenezuelaAngolaAyotzinapaChileLiberiapoliticsBeltran Leyva CartelDrug WarFidel CastroRaul CastroGuerreros Unidoshuman rightscivil societyorganized crimeJuarez CartelTijuana CartelSinaloa Cartelextrajudicial killingshuman traffickinghealth issuesmedical servicesprotest movement

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Duke University have named Jonathan Katz’s book "The Big Truck that Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) as the winner of the 2013 WOLA-Duke Human Rights Book Award. On November 6, 2013, Katz did a reading from his book at the FHI Garage at the Smith Warehouse, Bay 4 on Duke's campus. Katz, who currently lives in Durham, NC, was a correspondent for the Associated Press on January 12, 2010, when the deadliest earthquake ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere struck the island nation of Haiti. "The Big Truck that Went By" recounts Katz personal experience when the earthquake hit, and—drawing on his groundbreaking reporting during the period that followed—traces the relief response that poured from the international community and where those efforts went tremendously wrong. Award judge Roger Atwood states that “Katz’s book brings together everything a winner of this award should have: brave and groundbreaking research, lucid writing, freshness in both form and content, and (best of all) genuine policy applications.” Started in 2008, the WOLA-Duke Human Rights Book Award is a joint venture of Duke University and WOLA, a leading advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. The award honors the best current, non-fiction book published in English on human rights, democracy, and social justice in contemporary Latin America. The books are evaluated by a panel of expert judges drawn from academia, journalism, and public policy circles.

Photos: Ben Parker On May 10, 2013 Ríos Montt was found guilty of overseeing acts of genocide and war crimes against Guatemala’s Ixil Mayan population in 1982 and 1983. The landmark trial marked the first time a former head of state had been tried for genocide by his country's own judicial system, and was considered a key step in addressing impunity for crimes of the past. The guilty verdict was annulled 10 days later by the Constitutional Court on questionable legal grounds. Last week the Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Oct. 22 asking lower courts to reconsider Rios Montt’s right to protection under a defunct 1986 amnesty law. Is the Guatemalan Constitutional Court's decision impeding justice in Guatemala? What is the longer-term impact of this decision? Is it furthering impunity and social polarization in the country and a much needed reckoning with its past?Guests on our show:Jo-Marie Burt teaches political science at George Mason University, where she is also director of Latin American Studies and Co-director of the Center for Global Studies. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), where she conducts research and writes commentaries on human rights and transitional justice issues in the region. Kathryn Johnson is Assistant Director at Guatemala Human Rights Commission. She is an experienced researcher, advocate and master of public administration with proven ability to conduct accurate policy analysis, produce high quality reports for diverse audiences, and effectively communicate policy options as well as extensive international experience and a strong academic background in issues of international trade and development and fluency in Spanish.  

Photos: Ben Parker On May 10, 2013 Ríos Montt was found guilty of overseeing acts of genocide and war crimes against Guatemala’s Ixil Mayan population in 1982 and 1983. The landmark trial marked the first time a former head of state had been tried for genocide by his country's own judicial system, and was considered a key step in addressing impunity for crimes of the past. The guilty verdict was annulled 10 days later by the Constitutional Court on questionable legal grounds. Last week the Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Oct. 22 asking lower courts to reconsider Rios Montt’s right to protection under a defunct 1986 amnesty law. Is the Guatemalan Constitutional Court's decision impeding justice in Guatemala? What is the longer-term impact of this decision? Is it furthering impunity and social polarization in the country and a much needed reckoning with its past?Guests on our show:Jo-Marie Burt teaches political science at George Mason University, where she is also director of Latin American Studies and Co-director of the Center for Global Studies. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), where she conducts research and writes commentaries on human rights and transitional justice issues in the region. Kathryn Johnson is Assistant Director at Guatemala Human Rights Commission. She is an experienced researcher, advocate and master of public administration with proven ability to conduct accurate policy analysis, produce high quality reports for diverse audiences, and effectively communicate policy options as well as extensive international experience and a strong academic background in issues of international trade and development and fluency in Spanish.