"This opportunity for bipartisan collaboration is particularly true of the Colombia deal," writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini on The Huffington Post, "but only if the president is able to overcome the opposition of one of the most vocal and intense coalitions of anti-free trade groups ever."

"Colombia and Panama are not waiting on us," said Senator John McCain at the Americas Quarterly's Winter 2011 launch in Washington. "This is the new reality in our hemisphere today that too many Americans don’t understand: Our neighbors are not dependent on us."

"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."