Latin America Commentary & Analysis

Asian, Latin American Diplomats Debate TPP as Trade Bill Advances in Congress

With US lawmakers on the verge of granting the White House fast-track authority to negotiate complex free-trade accords, diplomats representing four of Washington’s eleven allies in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership—Chile, Japan, Peru, and Singapore—gathered June 23 at the Atlantic Council to discuss TPP’s implications. The event, sponsored by the council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, […]

President Rousseff’s Visit: Photo-Op or a New Era for the US and Brazil?

By Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

After 18 months of tension following the revelation of a US surveillance program directed at the Brazilian government, President Dilma Rousseff’s upcoming visit to Washington on June 30 marks an important shift toward reengagement for the United States and Brazil. The Presidents are expected to speak about a wide range of political and economic issues, from Venezuela and Haiti […]

Jacobson: Rousseff Visit ‘Critical’ for US-Brazil Relations

By Larry Luxner

With less than two weeks to go before Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s June 30 trip to Washington, the State Department’s top Latin America official says she’s optimistic the long-delayed visit will mark “the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.” Roberta Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, spoke June 19 at […]

US-Brazil Relations: Time for a Reset?

On June 30, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will visit the United States, nearly two years after she cancelled a planned trip to Washington in the wake of revelations by Edward Snowden that the US National Security Agency was monitoring her phone calls and emails. Peter Schechter, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America […]

Spotlight: President Rousseff’s US Visit

By Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

After a period of Brazil’s necessary distancing from the United States in the wake of the National Security Agency spying scandal in 2013, both countries are ready to reengage. The June 30 meeting between Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and US President Barack Obama comes amid much change—both in Brazil itself and in the United States’ […]

At Last, Some Good News for Mexico’s Peña Nieto

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Strengthening of ruling coalition in midterm elections will boost President’s reform agenda, says Atlantic Council’s Schechter Mexico’s June 7 mid-term elections, which unexpectedly strengthened the ruling coalition’s majority in the lower house of Congress, will boost President Enrique Peña Nieto’s efforts to reform the Mexican economy, predicts the Atlantic Council’s Peter Schechter. “The election result […]

US Drug Habit Deadly for Latin America

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Head of US Southern Command says terrorists could one day use criminal networks A demand in the United States for drugs—specifically cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines—is devastating communities across Latin America, says Marine Corps Gen John F. Kelly, Commander of US Southern Command. Illegal trafficking networks pose not just a security threat, they also have corrosive […]

US-Cuba Forecast: Sunny?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Cuba’s removal from terrorism list opens the door to full diplomatic relations says Atlantic Council’s Schechter US President Barack Obama’s decision to take Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism is a long-awaited move that “opens the door” to the re-establishment of relations with Cuba, said Peter Schechter, the Atlantic Council’s lead Latin […]