In Santiago, Chile, on January 28, the new regional body, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), passed its rotating presidency to Cuba’s dictator General Raul Castro. CELAC, according to prime backer Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, is part of a historic project to build a Latin American/Caribbean union …
Chile continues to lead Latin America in 2013 in both economic growth and economic freedom. These positive outcomes reflect well on the solid policy choices being implemented by the Chilean government of President Sebastián Piñera. Making it onto the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom’s list of top 10 freest countries …
The long-stalled talks on Iran’s nuclear program will soon resume. Earlier this week, European Union diplomat Helga Schmid contacted Iran’s deputy nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, “to discuss the way ahead, including possible dates and venues for talks,” according to State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland. Three rounds of talks this year …
America’s free trade agreements in Latin America are a major opportunity. But even though the new U.S.–Panama free trade agreement went into effect on October 31, potentially creating up to 7,000 new jobs, the United States still seems to forget about our friendly neighbors close to home. Talk of pivoting …
In his generally disappointing September 25 address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama trotted out a number of fundamental American principles. He called for a world able to “live with liberty, dignity, justice and opportunity,” and defended “universal values.” He urged an end to “the politics of division” …
The House of Representatives will soon take floor action on a piece of legislation know as the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act, aimed at protecting American citizens from Iran and defending American interests and assets in the Western Hemisphere. Introduced last March, the legislation requires the Secretary of …
On May 12, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights will focus a spotlight on the case of Jacob Ostreicher, an American imprisoned without charge for almost a year in a Bolivian prison. The 53-year-old American from Brooklyn is being held for an investment opportunity …
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has long been Iran’s greatest ally in the Western Hemisphere, but as Chavez’s cancer grows and his country’s future becomes increasingly uncertain, Iran may need to find a new best friend in Latin America—and fast. Enter Bolivia. Since Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first visited Bolivia in 2007, …
