WOLA promotes human rights, democracy and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.

WOLA promueve los derechos humanos, la democracia y la justicia económica y social en Latinoamérica y el Caribe.

WOLA promeut les droits humains, la démocratie et la justice économique et sociale en Amérique Latine et dans les Caraïbes.

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

Amidst proposals calling for U.S. military action in Mexico or further migration crackdowns in response to illicit fentanyl smuggling and drug overdose deaths, experts from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border will discuss the ineffectiveness and negative impacts of interdiction and militarized drug enforcement policies, while highlighting more effective, evidence-based, and humane strategies to address the overdose crisis. 

Simultaneous English<>Spanish interpretation will be available on Zoom during the event.

Addressing the fentanyl overdose crisis effectively: evidence from the border and beyond

This podcast episode features Kendra McSweeney and Fritz Pinnow, part of a team investigating a new trend: the emergence of coca cultivation in Central America.

McSweeney, a professor of geography at Ohio State University, has researched human-environment interactions, cultural and political ecology, conservation and development, resilience, demography, and land use/cover change. Pinnow is a Honduras-based journalist and documentary photographer specializing in illicit economies, violence and development in Central America.

McSweeney and colleagues have published an article in the journal Environmental Research Letters examining the recent and growing appearance of coca leaf cultivation in Central America, a crop historically associated with the Andean region. McSweeney and Pinnow discuss the environmental and market conditions driving coca cultivation in Honduras and Guatemala. They note that those attempting coca cultivation in the region have competitive advantages over Colombian growers, such as more favorable growing conditions.

They stress that it would be a serious error to respond to this phenomenon with another forced eradication program. Past crop-eradication strategies, which have almost always been uncoordinated with governance, rule of law, basic services, land formalization, or anti-poverty efforts, have failed and in fact ended up encouraging the planting of coca in new areas.

Reimagining the drug war amid rising coca cultivation in Central America

On March 14-22, 2024, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held its 67th annual session in Vienna, Austria. The session saw a landmark vote that may have important repercussions for drug policy, in Latin America and elsewhere.

The Commission approved a U.S.-led resolution encouraging countries to implement “harm reduction” measures to respond to drug overdoses and to protect public health.

The vote marks a major breakthrough in civil society’s decades-long advocacy to center harm reduction, especially since the U.S. government has a history of blocking all such resolutions, and since the Commission has a longstanding tradition of enactment by a “Vienna Consensus” without votes.

Download the episode .mp3 file of WOLA's Latin America Today podcast here

A groundbreaking win at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs

“Justice condemns women with a double penalty for being a woman… especially as a low-income woman, you’re invisible in the system until you commit a crime. Then, they finally see you.” —Nora Laura Calandra, co-founder of La Rama de Libertadxs y Familiares.

The incarceration of women is growing at alarming rates worldwide and in Latin America it is driven by strict drug laws, with devastating consequences for the women impacted and their families. Their stories unveil contexts of poverty, lack of opportunity, and physical and sexual violence, and also reveal the discrimination of unjust legal systems and societies plagued by stigmatization and patriarchal attitudes. But they are also stories of resilience, as women coming out of prison in Latin America today are organizing and fighting for their human rights and the right to live with dignity.

In response to the growing crisis of women’s incarceration in Latin America, in 2015 organizations, experts and activists created a Working Group on Women, Drug Policies, and Incarceration, led by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), and the Colombian NGO, Centro de Estudios de Derechos, Justicia y Sociedad – Dejusticia. Our objective is to significantly reduce the number of women deprived of liberty in Latin America, providing analysis and public policy recommendations and participating in advocacy initiatives at the international, regional, and national levels.

The purpose of this report is to reflect on almost ten years of collective research and joint advocacy by the working group, its achievements and disappointments, as well as challenges and opportunities for the future.

Justice is setting them free: Women, drug policies, and incarceration in Latin America

 Thursday, 30 November 2023 / 15:00 - 16:30 (GMT - London)

This recording is available in English and 

Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs Threats

 with the objective of mobilising the international community to “come together to collectively combat this shared challenge”. By October 2023, some 120 governments had signed up to be part of the Coalition.

In parallel, the USA will table a resolution at the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly that calls on UN Member States to prioritise global action to address the public health and security challenges posed by synthetic drugs.

Nonetheless, the question remains as to whether the Global Coalition will seek to promote innovative approaches to synthetic drugs, that are grounded in health and human rights, or whether it will be yet another vehicle to continue promoting interdiction and eradication.

This online event aims to inform and feed into this discussion, with inputs from health and human rights experts. Speakers will discuss a breadth of issues which include:

How prohibition itself has fuelled the increase in the diversity and use of synthetic substances (the so-called balloon effect) and the flaws this exposes in international drug control.

The medical significance of synthetic drugs like tramadol and ketamine in many parts of the world and how international scheduling would drastically reduce their availability.

The importance of harm reduction as the foremost pillar in the response to all drug use, including synthetic drugs, especially as it relates to preventing and responding to overdoses - as well as measures aimed at ending sanctions and reducing stigma against people who use drugs.

A discussion of the potential offered by the Global Coalition and its resolution to directly and progressively address these issues.

Keynote: Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Global Commission on Drug Policy

Daan van der Gouwe, Drug Markets Researcher, Trimbos Instituut, Netherlands

Theshia Naidoo, Managing Director of U.S. Foreign Policy, Drug Policy Alliance, USA

Andrzej Celinski, Contract Manager & Executive Administrator, Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs

Lisa Sánchez, Executive Director, Mexico Unido Contra la Delincuencia

Smriti Rana, Head of Strategic Programs and Partnerships, Pallium India 

Moderated by Ann Fordham, International Drug Policy Consortium.

Synthetic realities: Global drug policies beyond the 'new threat' narrative

The market in Colombia for coca, the plant whose leaves can be used to produce cocaine, is in a state of historic collapse, bringing with it an acute humanitarian crisis in already impoverished rural territories. The unusually sharp and prolonged drop in coca prices has several causes. WOLA has identified 12 possible explanations, some more compelling than others.

Regardless of the reason, the crisis is sure to be temporary as world cocaine demand remains robust. The Colombian government, and partner and donor governments including the United States, should take maximum advantage of this window of opportunity before it closes. 

chance for Colombia to fill vacuums of civilian government presence in territories where insecurity, armed groups, and now hunger are all too common.

Crisis and opportunity: Unravelling Colombia’s collapsing coca markets

Years in the making, the ground-breaking report on 

Women Deprived of Liberty in the Americas

 was launched by the OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on July 20, 2023.

Even as the research for the report was underway, women’s incarceration in the region continued to rise. Data provided by the 

 shows that excluding the United States, 

an estimated 95,000 women are behind bars in the Americas today, compared to about 38,000 in the year 2000

Behind these statistics are the tragic stories of the women who are living in these prisons, in deplorable conditions, while neglected and abused, and isolated from their families.

Here are three reasons why this report is so important for efforts to reduce dramatically the number of women behind bars in the Americas.

1. Change the narrative about women in prison.

This report starts from the premise that 

; their basic human rights must be protected and promoted. While this may sound obvious to some, that is not the commonly held opinion among many in the region.

As the report elaborates, in Latin America the continued rise in women’s incarceration is driven in large part by excessively punitive drug laws and harsh “

. Anyone alleged to be involved in drugs or gangs is portrayed as a dangerous criminal. Women involved in the criminal legal system face even higher levels of stigma and discrimination than men, as they are viewed as having defied the gendered and caregiving roles that society has assigned to them. And this is even more true for 

In order to gain public and governmental support for the policy reforms presented in this report, we need to change the narrative about who the women in prison are and the reasons that led them there. We also need to promote discussion of alternatives to punitive policies that will make families and communities stronger and more resilient.

Finally, by including formerly incarcerated women, including trans women, in the expert meetings for this report and holding two separate sessions with them, the IACHR is acknowledging formerly incarcerated women as powerful agents of change. One of the most significant developments in recent years is the emergence of local organizations led and founded by formerly incarcerated women and the Latin American network of formerly incarcerated women. Who better than those who have experienced the horrors of incarceration to put forward alternative approaches?

2. Rethink alternatives to incarceration.

The IACHR states that one of the primary objectives of the report is to reduce the female prison population. That means bringing fewer women into the criminal legal system to begin with and avoiding the incarceration of those women who are caught up in it. The report analyzes the three main gender-oriented alternative measures being used in the region today and the reasons why, as presently conceived, they are in fact not good alternatives.

We need to rethink alternatives to incarceration. House arrest, electronic monitoring, and drug courts are three commonly used alternatives in the Americas that come from a punitive mindset, as opposed to one based on restitution and providing women with the life skills and resources that can keep them out of the criminal justice system in the first place.

The IACHR report calls on member states to prioritize the implementation of alternative measures from gender and intersectionality perspectives, taking into account the specific needs of women, particularly those who are more at risk because they face multiple factors of discrimination, such as mothers and trans women. It then lists a variety of options that are less harmful and potentially beneficial, including: non-onerous reporting requirements; suspended sentences; voluntary drug treatment; community programs and services; mediation; restitution to the victim or compensation; and restorative justice.

Here is more on why the commonly used alternatives today are problematic:

 is the most common, but women may not have a home to go to or a family willing to provide for them. The conditions under which women are kept under house arrest are usually so strict that women cannot work to earn a living, fulfill their responsibilities as mothers or caregivers, or even go to the doctor when needed. For this option to truly be an alternative for those who could benefit, these conditions need to be significantly relaxed.

 is becoming more popular, but the experience of those impacted by its use widely differs depending on the resources (human, social and financial) at their disposal. This includes, among other issues, having a home and a support network – something not always available to women in situations of vulnerability. The use of electronic monitoring also transfers the costs of confinement from the state to the individual and can cause a range of health problems.

 are meant to provide treatment to those who need it, reduce prison populations, and limit the costs associated with incarceration.

 In practice, drug courts are a costly and cumbersome intervention that have had a limited impact on reducing incarceration

 and may even be detrimental to alleged beneficiaries. As this report rightly points out, drug treatment programs should be voluntary and carried out from a public health perspective.

3. Implement the IACHR’s blueprint for policy reforms across the region.

Governments across the region pay attention to recommendations put forward by the IACHR. The report also provides civil society actors with a very important tool for advocacy efforts to reduce women’s incarceration across the region. Here are just a few of the policy recommendations that are particularly important for reducing women’s incarceration:

Reform drug laws to ensure proportionality in sentencing.

Decriminalize drug use and possession for personal use.

Use non-custodial sentences, or alternatives to incarceration, for low-level offenses.

Dramatically limit the use of pre-trial detention.

Ensure access to prison benefits, such as sentence reductions.

Incorporate consideration of mitigating circumstances before, during, and after prosecution.

Eliminate criminal records, which is so important for women and men trying to reconstruct their lives after prison.

Collect good data with a gender focus, in order to implement sound evidence-based policies.

Adopt policies to prevent and respond to gender violence in prison, including violence against trans women.

In recent years, there has been real progress in getting the issue of the disproportionate impact of incarceration on women on national, regional, and international agendas. Governments across the region now acknowledge the disproportionate impact of incarceration on women and the devastating impact on their children and families. Yet, with some important exceptions, that has not led to much-needed reforms. It is time to transform words into action, and this comprehensive report provides just the tool that governments need to do that.

Three ways to reduce the number of women in prison in the Americas

A response to the annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board

In its report for 2022, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the “

” that monitors the implementation of the UN drug control conventions, focuses on the legalisation of cannabis. Each year, in the first chapter of its annual report, the Board addresses a specific issue it deems important for drug policy discussions and the functioning of the international drug control system. This year, 

cannabis legalisation is the focus(external link)

, because as many have noticed, a decade after the first state legally regulated adult recreational cannabis “a growing number of States have adopted policies that permit the use of cannabis for non-medical and non-scientific purposes”.

Indeed, after Uruguay in 2013 and Canada in 2018, as well as to date 21 of the 50 states in the United States of America since 2012, other countries have announced or set in motion steps to legalise cannabis, such as Germany, Luxembourg and Malta in Europe, Mexico and Colombia in the Americas, South Africa, and Thailand in South-east Asia, while in the Netherlands and Switzerland science-guided experiments are under way to assess the effects of a legal regulation of cannabis. The expectation is that more countries will follow in the coming years. Draft legislation is already being discussed in the U.S. Congress, while opinion polls indicate that a majority of voters of both main U.S. political parties are in favour of legalisation. The legalisation of cannabis at the federal level in the U.S., for decades the main proponent of its prohibition for anything other than scientific or medical purposes, would constitute a sea change and a serious challenge to the international drug control regime.

Over the past decade, since Uruguay and the first states in the U.S., Colorado and Washington, legally regulated cannabis for adult recreational use, the standard cut-and-paste reaction by the INCB, repeated in every annual report, has been that this is not allowed under the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and that measures to permit the use of controlled substances such as cannabis for recreational purposes are inconsistent with article 4, paragraph (c) of the 1961 Single Convention, which requires States parties to take such necessary legislative and administrative measures, “to limit the use of narcotic drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes”.

So there was a mixture of expectation and concern when the news trickled out last year that the Board would finally address the issue in greater depth in its Report for 2022. Would the Board dig in its heels, continue to reject legalization as contrary to the obligations of the UN drug treaties, and set on a course that could eventually—or inevitably—lead to the 

invocation of the enforcement and sanctioning measures of Article 14 of the 1961 Single Convention(external link)

? Although the Board does not have the power to enforce the provisions of the international drug control conventions on its own, invoking Article 14, might, after a lengthy and complicated consultation procedure, lead to a recommendation for “co-operative action at the international level” to remedy the situation. Ultimately, that could result in an import and export embargo on licit drugs for medical purposes from or to the country concerned. Although such measures are seen by many as a ‘nuclear option’ and considered excessive and highly unlikely, triggering an Article 14 procedure in itself might already act as a deterrent. Since a remedial consultation procedure initially takes place behind closed doors, nobody but the members of the Board and the government involved actually know if such procedures may have already been set in motion regarding cannabis legalisation.

Or would the INCB at last recognise that the trend toward legal regulation of adult recreational cannabis will not be reversed and initiate a process to assist State parties to the drug control treaties to find a solution, and a pathway to legally regulate cannabis in accordance with international law and the UN drug control treaties?

Willful blindness: INCB can find nothing good to say on cannabis legalisation

Around the world, the number of women behind bars continues to grow. The just-released fifth edition of the 

 shows that the number of women and girls in detention world-wide increased by 60 percent since 2000, while that of men has risen by around 22 percent. The World Female Imprisonment List is part of the 

, produced by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research.

The United States leads the world with more than 210,000 women in prison today, a steep increase from the 159,000 held behind bars in 2000. It also has the unfortunate distinction of having the world’s highest female prison population rate of about 64 women in prison per 100,000 in the national population. In contrast, Europe (excluding Russia) is the one area of the world where female imprisonment has decreased, falling about 13 percent during this time period and with a female prison population rate of just 6.9.

Latin America also fares poorly, with egregious statistics for some countries. Excluding the United States, an estimated 95,000 women are behind bars in the Americas today, compared to 37,671 in the year 2000, an increase of more than 150 percent in little over two decades. Brazil has among the highest numbers of incarcerated women in the world, coming in third after the U.S. and China, while Mexico is in tenth place. El Salvador has the world’s third highest female prison population rate, 42 out of 100,000 people; its female prison population has increased more than sevenfold over the past two decades. Guatemala’s has increased sixfold, and it is one of 17 jurisdictions around the world where women and girls account for more than 10 percent of the total prison population.

While the factors leading to women’s incarceration vary by country, in Latin America the continued rise in women’s incarceration is driven in large part by punitive drug laws and “

. In most Latin American countries, drug-related offenses are the main cause of female incarceration and the percentage of women incarcerated for such offenses is almost always higher than that of men. Moreover, the profiles of women behind bars are remarkably similar: most are mothers, often single heads of household, who come from situations of vulnerability. In short, they are seeking to put food on the table for their families.

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)

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