Founded in 1983, the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) is one of the United States' longest-standing coalitions dedicated to foreign policy. LAWG and its sister organization, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, work with over 60 major religious, humanitarian, grassroots and policy organizations to influence decision makers in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

History

In 1983, seeking to respond to the humanitarian crisis in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and to U.S. policies that backed armies that slaughtered civilians, U.S. churches, grassroots and policy groups sought a coordinated way to respond. Working out of borrowed office space, with one or two paid staff, the Central America Working Group, as it was then called, served to organize, educate, and inspire activists advocating peace and justice in Central America. CAWG developed allies in Congress, the media and the public to end military assistance to the Salvadoran and Guatemalan governments and the Nicaraguan Contras. After the wars ended, CAWG coordinated efforts to encourage implementation of historic peace agreements and support the search for truth by helping to spur the declassification of thousands of U.S. documents for Central American truth commissions. In the early 1990s, the groups participating in CAWG coalition decided, rather than to disband, to expand their issues, becoming the Latin America Working Group. The LAWG has worked since then to call for disaster relief and development aid to the region, successfully lift the embargo on the sale of food and medicine to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, lift the restrictions on Cuban-American travel and advocate for an end to the full travel ban, cut military aid and increase humanitarian aid to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, support the struggle for fair elections in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and advocate for just border policies that recognize the human rights of migrants and border communities. LAWG is organized as a 501 (c) 4 nonprofit, which carries out advocacy, while its affiliated organization, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, carries out educational activities.

Achievements

LAWG was involved in opposing the U.S. role in Central American wars during the 1980s and in supporting the negotiated peace settlements that took hold in the region by the 1990s. Since then, LAWG gained U.S. support to implement Central American peace accords and to declassify documents that shed light on human rights abuses in Latin America and U.S. policies. LAWG helped secure several billion dollars in U.S. disaster relief in the wake of earthquakes and hurricanes that devastated Central America and

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. LAWG changed the balance of U.S. aid to Colombia, decreasing military aid and increasing aid for development and victims of violence, and helped ensure U.S. government attention to abuses in Mexico and Colombia. LAWG’s efforts assisted the easing of restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba and restrictions on the right of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latin America Working Group Foreign policy lobbying organizations in the United States 1983 establishments in the United States