COA's annual event convened senior hemispheric leaders, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou, to dialogue on U.S. partnerships with Latin America as well as the growing importance of Asia-Pacific ties.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s five-day tour of Colombia, Brazil, and Chile focused on regional defense, disaster preparedness, and arms exchanges.
Ahead of the IV Summit of the Americas taking place April 14-15, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini speaks to NY1 Noticias about the disparity between the diverse economic and political realities in Latin America and U.S. policy towards the region. (en español)
"There was a huge anticipation, expectation that the U.S. would fundamentally change policy towards the [Latin American] region, but those expectations were unfounded and indeed many people in the region were disappointed that things did not change overnight from traditional U.S. approaches to the hemisphere," says COA's Eric Farnsworth speaking about the United States' policies towards Latin America over the past three years.
On April 12, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Cartagena to participate in the sixth Summit of the Americas, the White House Office Hours will hold the conference "Connecting the Americas," in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and COA.
In an op-ed for The Miami Herald, AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth urges the White House to make democracy, energy, and trade the top agenda items when U.S. President Barack Obama meets with regional leaders at the 2012 Summit of the Americas.
Beyond immigration, health care is a serious concern for Hispanic voters. The outcome of the Supreme Court’s case on the Affordable Care Act could ultimately influence the Latino vote in November.
