Washington Office on Latin America records, 1968-2023

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Summary

Creator:
Washington Office on Latin America
Abstract:
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is an international human rights advocacy organization headquartered in Washington D.C. It partners with local organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the region and to influence the foreign policy agenda of the United States government. The WOLA records span 1968-2023, with most materials dating from 1980-2009. Contains research and project files on nearly every country in Latin America, administration records, clippings, correspondence, printed material, audiovisual materials, and other assorted materials related to the work of WOLA. Major subjects include political and government issues such as coup d'etats, dictatorships, elections, human rights abuses, and policy; economic topics such as aid, development, labor and poverty; documentation and advocacy related to human rights cases such as violence, forced disappearances, and truth and reconciliation; security issues and police reform, including demilitarizing police, the School of Americas, and violence against women; drug policies; Hurricane Mitch; advocacy training for other NGOs and lobbying work; and various events and conferences in which these topics are discussed. Additional topics include the role and influence of the United States throughout Latin America by means of government and economic policy, military actions, and human rights work. Acquired by the Human Rights Archive.
Extent:
301 Linear Feet
26.5 Gigabytes
Language:
Most material in English and Spanish, with smaller amounts in French, Portuguese, and additional languages.
Research Center:
Human Rights Archive
Collection ID:
RL.01401

Background

Scope and content:

The Washington Office on Latin America records span 1968-2023, and consist of administrative files, reports, correspondence, memos, press releases, government documents, clippings and newspapers, printed materials, sound recordings, audiovisual and digital media, and other assorted materials on nearly every country in Latin America and Haiti. Materials in this collection provide a rich resource for the study of politically motivated violence, human rights abuses throughout the region, and document the changing political attitudes towards the region on the part of the US government for more than four decades.

Topically, includes a large number of human rights violations such as torture, forced disappearances, and executions that are addressed in publications, urgent actions, individual case files, and in other formats under different political and military regimes including under Augusto Pinochet in Chile, the Guatemalan military, Alberto Fujimori in Peru, and more. Such violations impacted indigenous and rural communities particularly in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico; clergy, public officials and politicians, human rights activists, journalists, and other individuals such as Myrna Mack Chang, Bishop Gerardi, and Digna Ochoa. Furthermore, the collection includes materials post-conflict including different peace processes, accords, and truth and reconciliation commissions. A large number of materials focus on WOLA's advocacy work such as lobbying for legislative change. Materials include some ephemeral or hard-to-find printed material produced by leftist or guerrilla groups in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Additionally, materials cover a wide spectrum of Latin American-United States relations, such as WOLA's engagement with officials in Congress; US policy towards drugs, aid, and military support; US involvement in conflicts in the region; and training of Latin American police and military through the School of the Americas.

Other notable topics include WOLA's various activities such as their engagement in economic development, with materials touching upon international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank, indigenous and rural development, trade, and labor; developing local capacity for advocacy work through the Advocacy Training Program; initiatives with police reform, demilitarization of police forces, and citizen involvement; its Violence Against Women program; work related to the "war on drugs" or drug policies; various conferences and other programs to educate and staff and broader audiences about issues in Latin America; and its collaborative work with international and grassroots-level NGOs globally and regionally.

Biographical / historical:

Based in Washington D.C., the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), was founded in 1974 through a coalition of religious and civic leaders, as a result of the 1973 Chilean coup to advocate for human rights and connect with policymakers with accounts of human rights abuses under military dictatorships. Throughout the years, their focus has increased to nearly every country in Latin America and the Caribbean, and increasing their partners from church leaders to include Latin American NGOs and solidarity groups, as well as collaborating or sharing information from international NGOs and bodies such as the United Nations. In addition, WOLA's activities have centered on advocacy, education, human rights awareness, research and analysis, and training for NGOs in methodologies to build local capacity for change. Some of WOLA's work over the years has included documentation of human rights abuses by Nicaragua Contras in the 1980s; support of peace accords in El Salvador; information about issues regarding the war on drugs led by the United States; exposure of human rights violations in Peru, Guatemala, and other countries; efforts to shape policy in Congress towards aid, military support, economic development, and ending the School of Americas; and education through analysis, research, and events about human rights issues. Staff over the years have broadened their work from country-specific, to multi-country, regional, or topical initiatives such as the reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998, public security efforts and policing, US-Mexico border issues, migration, and more.

Sources: WOLA, "History of WOLA," accessed March 2026, https://www.wola.org/about-us/history-of-wola/. Coletta A. Youngers, "The Washington Office on Latin America; Thirty Years of Advocacy for Human Rights, Democracy and Social Justice."

Acquisition information:
The Washington Office on Latin America Records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2007-2025.
Processing information:

Processed by RL staff, April 2009; Michelle Runyon, 2020; Erin Foster and Patrick Stawski, 2023; Tere Elizalde, 2026.

Accessioned described in this collection guide: 2007-0189, 2008-0050, 2009-0017, 2010-0069, 2013-0053

Most original folders were kept and transcribed as is, but abbreviations, short-hand, and acronyms have been provided with additional information in parentheses following the term or phrase at times and when identifiable. This information was sourced from the materials directly and may sometimes lack diacritics, or accent marks, typically used. Some locations and other words including names are fully written in the collection guide, with minor corrections to spelling if possible. Some dates on the original folders imply dates of events, and were revised to include the full range of materials observed during processing. All sound recordings, digital media, and other audiovisual materials were added to a larger Audiovisual Materials series; some digital media were deaccessioned upon further review.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: Administrative files; Geographic files; Initiatives and Activities; Audiovisual Materials.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access restricted. Portions of the collection are closed for processing.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that may need to be reformatted. Access copies of electronic records require special equipment. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are digitized audiovisual materials that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright Guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Washington Office on Latin America Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1cf05