Latin America Policy

America's Missed Opportunities in Latin America

Hoyt Hilsman | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Latin America, Immigration, Colombia, Brazil, Summit of the Americas, Drug Trade, Latin America Policy, Mexico, Brazil Economy, Emerging Economies, World News

Latin America presents enormous opportunities for the U.S. in terms of economic and political cooperation, but we continue to squander these opportunities as we squabble among ourselves over issues like immigration and drug policies.

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Where Is Brazil in the Global Drug Debate?

Ilona Szabo | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: War on Drugs Brazil, War on Drugs, Latin America Policy, Brazil, War on Drugs Latin America, War on Drugs Mexico, World News

Particularly given the devastating implications of this failed war on Brazil's society and democratic institutions, the government's silence is deafening.

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The Latin American Spring

Eric Farnsworth | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: G20 Summit, Summit of the Americas, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Brazil United States, US Mexico Policy, Pope Visit Mexico, World News

The pope's visit to Mexico and Cuba beginning Friday will kick off a period of intensive focus on Latin America. As the spotlight shines on the region, it will illuminate both the dramatic progress that has been made, as well as the progress that remains to be made.

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Colombia's FARC Announces Release Of Prisoners

AP | By LIBARDO CARDONA | Posted 03.03.2012

Read More: Video, Colombia FARC, Colombia Farc Hostages, Hostages, Colombia, Latin America Policy, Ingrid Betancourt, Farc, Latino Voices News

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Sgt. Luis Alfonso Beltran has endured 14 years of jungle prisons as a captive of leftist rebels while three of his aunts and uncle...

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Guatemala Leader Takes Office Pledging 'Iron Fist'

AP | ROMINA RUIZ-GOIRIENA | Posted 03.15.2012

Read More: Guatemala City, Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, Guatemala Violence, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Latino Voices News

GUATEMALA CITY — Retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina was sworn in as president of Guatemala on Saturday, calling on the United States and Mexico to h...

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What the Recent Elections Say About Democracy in Central America

Eric Farnsworth | Posted 01.15.2012

Read More: Guatemala Violence, Latin America Policy, Nicaragua Elections, Ortega Nicaragua, Elections Guatemala, Nicaragua Democracy, Guatemala Democracy, Voting Latin America, Central America Elections, Perez Guatemala, Molina Elections, World News

We have now entered a new era in Central America and elsewhere in Latin America, where the quest for security and economic expansion trumps democratic ideals.

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Anti-Chavez TV channel says it will challenge fine

AP | Posted 12.22.2011

Read More: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, Globovision, Caracas, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Latino Voices News

CARACAS, Venezuela — An opposition-aligned television channel said Saturday that it will appeal a fine of more than $2 million imposed by Venezu...

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Mexico's Last Stand

David Perez | Posted 06.05.2011

Read More: WikiLeaks Cables, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Mexico Drug Cartels, Mexico, War on Drugs, Latino Politics, US-Mexico Border, Mexico Drug Violence, Felipe Calderon Drugs, Mexico Drugs, Wikileaks Mexico, Mexico Border Security, World News

Mexico will elect a new president in 2012. Facing mounting pressure to change course, Calderon's successor may choose scale back the anti-drug offensive return the country to its pre-2006 days. But that would be a mistake.

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A Partnership for a New Latin America

Luis Alberto Moreno | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: El Salvador, Chile, Jfk Obama, South America, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Brazil, Cold War, Jfk, Peace Corps, World News

Despite headlines of drug violence and political polarization in some countries, these trend lines underscore a positive new narrative quietly taking shape across the hemisphere.

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Dancing With Dynamite in Latin America

Nikolas Kozloff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Benjamin Dangl, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Dilma Rousseff, Rafael Correa, Nikolas Kozloff, South America Politics, South America, South America Government, Latin America Politics, South America Policy, Latin America Government, Latin America, Latin America Policy, World News

The past ten years in Latin America have seen a historic shift to the left in government power and the streets. The US needs to learn from these examples if we are to break out of our stagnant political culture.

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U.S. Secretary of State: A Cautionary Tale

Al Giordano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President-Elect Barack Obama, Human Rights, Colombia, US Secretary of State, Obama's Cabinet, Mexico, Latin America, Latin America Policy, International, Politics News

In Latin America, as everywhere, the doctrine of Human Rights, begun in the Carter administration but left to atrophy by all administrations since, walks hand in hand with any pro-democracy agenda.

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As Latin America Changes, Will the U.S. Policy Debate?

Christopher Sabatini | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hugo Chavez, Latin America, Brazil, U.S. Policy in Latin America, Free Trade Agreements, Human Rights, Connie Mack, Latin America Policy, US Foreign Policy, International Relations, Development, Arturo Valenzuela, Monroe Doctrine, World News

Latin America is at its most divided, ideologically and in its economic trajectories. Do we have the intellectual tools and framework to deal with it?

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The Future of Latin America: Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Policy in the Hemisphere

Chris Dodd | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Senator Chris Dodd, Chris Dodd, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Brazil, World News

That old metaphor -- Latin America as the U.S.'s backyard -- is indicative of the American habit of viewing the region solely in terms of problems to be solved. What a shame: There is so much opportunity to be found in Latin America.

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Colombia: and the Winner Is, Antanas Mockus

Aldo Civico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Antanas Mockus, President Alvaro Uribe, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Colombia, Voters, Juan Manuel Santos, Alvaro Uribe, Voter Participation, Democracy, Green Party, Alvaro Uribe Government, Participation, World News

Over the past ten days, I was amazed to see window with signboards for Antanas Mockus, the presidential candidate of the Green Party. It's the Colombian version of the Obama syndrome.

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What's Not a Political Act?

Ming Holden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Newsweek, Politics News, Politics, Linguistics, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Historical Memory, Culture, Politics News

When is it not a political act to honor victims of dirty wars, in Latin America or anywhere else? "Political" strikes me as one of the most ill-used words in American conversation.

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Stop Hugo Chavez Before It's Too Late

Fernando Espuelas | Posted 05.25.2011

And with Iran's documented exportation of terror into Latin America, Venezuela is Iran's ultimate forward base for that terror state's ambitions in Latin America.

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Washington and the Colombian Elections

Aldo Civico | Posted 05.25.2011

There is an anecdote circulating in Washington. It is about a meeting between the Colombian foreign minister Bermudez and the president of the Senate ...

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Dispatch From Caracas

Oliver Stone | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hugo Chavez, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Rafael Correa, Raul Castro, Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner, South of the Border, Evo Morales, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Fernando Lugo, World News

Is Hugo Chávez really the anti-American pariah we've read about for years? Is he really all that different from the other democratic, left-of-center leaders who now govern most of the region? I don't believe so.

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International Campaign Around Venezuela's Elections Has Begun

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Latin America, US Foreign Policy, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Obama Foreign Policy, Barack Obama, World News

Venezuela has an election for its National Assembly in September, and the campaign has begun in earnest. I am referring to the international campaign....

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Hillary Clinton's "Damage Control" Trip to Latin America

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Venezuela, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Brazil, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Honduras, Argentina, Bolivia, Hillary Clinton, Obama Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, World News

Hillary Clinton's Latin America tour is turning out to be about as successful as George W. Bush's visit in 2005, when he ended up leaving Argentina a ...

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Independent Latin America Forms Its Own Organization

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Venezuela, Caribbean, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Brazil, Obama Latin America, Honduras, US Foreign Policy, Barack Obama, Canada, World News

Latin America took another historic step forward this week with the creation of a new regional organization of 32 Latin American and Caribbean countri...

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Haiti: Public Relations War and Historical Symbolism

Nikolas Kozloff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hugo Chavez, Haiti Earthquake, Rene Preval, Bill Clinton, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Neo-Liberalism, Economic Development, Barack Obama, U.S. Policy in Latin America, Politics News

With both Chavez and the U.S. looking to reverse their political fortunes in Latin America, could Haiti become the setting for geopolitical tensions?

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Top Ten Ways You Can Tell Which Side the United States Government is On With Regard to the Military Coup in Honduras

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Honduras Crisis, Honduras Coup, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Manuel Zelaya, Honduras, Honduras Zelaya, Barack Obama, World News

In June, the Honduran military abducted President Manuel Zelaya at gunpoint and flew him out of the country. Conflicting statements from the Obama administration have left many confused.

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President Obama's Credibility on the Line in Honduras

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Honduras Coup, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Manuel Zelaya, Honduras, Honduras Zelaya, Hillary Clinton, Thomas Shannon, Barack Obama, State Department, Foreign Policy, World News

The Obama team brokered the accord in Honduras, and got a commitment from the coup leaders. If they go back on it, how much will the Obama administration's word be worth on anything else?

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How Much Repression Will Hillary Clinton Support in Honduras?

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Honduras Coup, Honduras Zelaya, Honduras, Hillary Clinton, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Barack Obama, Manuel Zelaya, Foreign Policy, World News

The United States has been the only major country to maintain an ambassador in Honduras throughout the dictatorship, and has also maintained a deafening silence about the repression there.

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