

Latin America Today
Washington Office on Latin America
News and analysis of politics, security, development and U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, from the Washington Office on Latin America.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 30, 2023 • 55min
Fentanyl: "What sounds tough isn't necessarily a serious policy"
From a traditional drug policy perspective, fentanyl would appear to be an intractable problem. It also threatens a rift in the U.S.-Mexico relationship. WOLA's John Walsh and Stephanie Brewer point to better ways to respond to this challenge.

May 1, 2023 • 36min
"We can't deter our way out of this": a view from the Honduras-Nicaragua border
WOLA staff report from Honduras after a visit to the border with Nicaragua, where we witnessed a historic migration flow. As government and service providers struggle to manage this result of a series of policy failures, it's not clear what lies ahead.

Apr 10, 2023 • 47min
"The days of hoping for a magical solution are long gone": Geoff Ramsey on Venezuela
A conversation about the political and humanitarian moment in Venezuela, efforts to resolve the country's crisis, and the U.S. role, with Geoff Ramsey, who recently departed WOLA's Venezuela Program and is now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Mar 3, 2023 • 48min
Guatemala: An Eroding Democracy Approaches New Elections
Guatemala's deteriorating democracy is approaching June elections with disqualified candidates, imprisoned or exiled judicial workers and journalists, and a U.S. policy that's hard to pin down. Analysis from WOLA Central America Program Director Ana María Méndez and Council on Foreign Relations Latin America Fellow Will Freeman.

Dec 20, 2022 • 45min
Peru's Turmoil and "the Danger of a Much Deeper Crisis"
December 2022 in Peru has seen a president's failed attempt to dissolve Congress and subsequent jailing, and now large-scale protests met with a military crackdown. Senior Fellow Jo-Marie Burt explains what's at stake in a deeply divided nation.

Dec 6, 2022 • 55min
Unprotected at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Reporting Back from Texas and Arizona
WOLA staff spent a mid-November week visiting several points along the U.S.-Mexico border. We spoke to many migrants stranded in Mexico, in shelters and in rustic camps, unable to seek protection in the United States. What will happen if and when Title 42 ends?

Sep 19, 2022 • 47min
Mexico Sends in the Troops: Stephanie Brewer on the Militarization of Public Security
Mexico has been increasing its armed forces' role in public security for many years, but the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has just taken it to historic new lengths. WOLA's Mexico Program director, Stephanie Brewer, explains.

Jul 11, 2022 • 53min
"What happens with the Petro government could become a model for engaging with the region"
WOLA's director for the Andes, Gimena Sánchez, was in Colombia during the historic June 19 election that sent Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez to the presidency and vice-presidency. We discuss this victory's significance and the big challenges ahead.

Jun 21, 2022 • 51min
Migration and the Summit of the Americas
Adam, Stephanie Brewer, Maureen Meyer, and Lesly Tejada discuss regional migration and the Summit of the Americas, which took place Los Angeles earlier in June. The four analyze the political implications of the Summit and their recent travel to the border areas.

Jan 19, 2022 • 1h 7min
"We believe there are multiple armed conflicts": Kyle Johnson on security in Colombia
Recent violence in the northeastern region of Arauca shows the complicated, fragmented nature of Colombia's armed conflict—or "conflicts," as security analyst Kyle Johnson calls it in this clear, nuanced explanation of security challenges in early 2022.


