Central America & Caribbean

AS/COA Honorary Chairman David Rockefeller urges the White house to resist protectionist demands that could further weaken the U.S. economy. "President Obama should recognize the critical need for a free flow of trade and finance across the world’s borders," he writes in The New York Times.

The State Department took new measures, including a cut of over $30 million in aid, to pressure the de facto government in Honduras toward resolving the political impasse stemming from the coup. The Central American country faces increasing economic isolation since the June overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya.

"Now is the time to have an open and honest dialogue about the role of trade in the economy and the ways it influences economic growth, job creation, and wealth generation," writes AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal in an op-ed for Poder on the sustainable benefits liberalized trade has for the global economy.

"If the United States is going to be a partner with Latin America—a healthy and laudable goal—the aspiring powers of the hemisphere need to shake off their timidity and worn-out rhetoric," write AS/COA's Senior Director of Policy Christopher Sabatini and Kissinger Associates' Stephanie Junger-Moat.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, former President of Peru Alejandro Toledo discusses the role the Commission has played in helping reconcile the region's complex past and safeguard its democratic institutions. Adapted from an article originally published in Americas Quarterly.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution with a call for constitutional reform to pave the way for sequential presidential reelection. The move comes even as neighboring Honduras finds itself in political chaos over similar moves by a deposed leader.

Leaders from Central America met Friday to discuss how to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis. Calling for deeper integration, leaders proposed creating a common currency and passport.