Contributions from Carin Zissis
Former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos won more than twice the votes of his main rival in Colombia's May 30 elections, but fell short of gaining the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff. Santos and the Green Party's Antanas Mockus compete for the presidency in a second round on June 20.
The Green Party's Antanas Mockus and the U Party's Juan Manuel Santos are neck and neck in Colombia's presidential race, according to polls released ahead of May 30 elections. Neither is expected to win the needed absolute majority, making a June 20 runoff likely.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, opening speaker at the 40th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, talked about the primacy of hemispheric issues on the Obama administration's agenda. She stressed three priority areas for U.S.-Latin American cooperation: trade and energy partnerships, public security, and inequality and immigration.