History
WOLA was founded in 1974 after the 1973 military coup of the democratically elected government in Chile. The first long-term executive director of the organization was Joseph Eldridge, who is currently the chaplain for American University. In its early years, some of WOLA's contacts were priests and nuns who lived in Latin America and bore witness to the events there.
WOLA has provided U.S. citizens and policy-makers firsthand information from Latin America. It informs the U.S. government about the effects of U.S. policy on the region. It facilitates communications and helps to sponsor visits from Latin Americans with expertise and experiences in human rights.
In 1975, the first major legislation that put conditions on U.S. military aid abroad on human-rights practices was drafted by congressional staff-persons who asked WOLA for advice.
Read more about this topic: Washington Office On Latin America
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