"With an economy the size of the rest of the region put together and rapid growth, Brazil is leading Latin America’s conscious and confident outreach to partners beyond the United States," writes COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth in The Miami Herald.

In the 2011 State of the Union, President Barack Obama signaled his support for pending trade deals with Colombia and Panama. But it remains to be seen how hard he will push for their passage. Will the two Latin American countries look elsewhere for trade partners?

While Washington sleeps, the United States is losing the battle for Latin America's markets, writes Eric Farnsworth in the Winter 2011 issue of Americas Quarterly.

The Obama administration made some changes to Cuba travel and remittance policy. But further easing of Cuba policy will face resistance from the new U.S. Congress.

In an article for The Huffington Post, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini argues that U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America should "move on from focusing on internal politics or development objectives to understanding the nature of shifting international coalitions."

"A strong trade agenda presents a unique opportunity to promote economic growth, global partnerships and bipartisan cooperation," argues Congressman David Dreier in an op-ed for Politico. "International trade plays an important part in improving a nation’s circumstances — far beyond the immediate scope of exports and imports."

WikiLeaks released 251,287 classified U.S. State Department diplomatic cables on November 28. AS/COA Online takes a look at leaks related to security and policy issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.