U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Council of the Americas' 41st Annual Washington Conference, discussing economic and security cooperation in the hemisphere, immigration, social inclusion, and her support for the pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

Following her remarks at COA's Washington Conference, the assistant secretary of state writes in a post for U.S. State Department's DipNote that "the United States' road to recovery lies right here in our region."

Sure, President Obama’s trip hit all the right symbolic notes, but will it produce any meaningful, concrete results over the long term?

Celso Amorim, the man who led Brazil into its new global era, discusses his diplomatic vision and U.S.-Brazilian relations in the new issue of Americas Quarterly.

"[T]here is a chance of fundamentally repositioning the United States in hemispheric affairs in a manner consistent with its own core interests and the aspirations and ongoing changes of the region itself, to mutual benefit and reward," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in Latin American Policy.

The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement has moved closer to submission to Congress. A new COA update looks at the progress and potential next steps for advancing the bilateral trade pact.

In light of the ongoing economic reform process in Cuba, the report outlines specific steps that can be taken by the Cuban government, the U.S. government, NGOs and foundations to assist independent small and micro-entrepreneurs in Cuba.