"Why is a position against violence targeting homosexuals and in defense of gay rights a valid reason to reject a nominee to an ambassadorship?" asks AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini, after the Senate's rejection of Mari Carmen Aponte as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador.

With passage of the U.S. free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, COA's Eric Farnsworth explores what's next for the hemispheric trade agenda.

President Obama's strengthening ties with Asia is understandable, but should not come at the expense of U.S. relationships in the Americas, argues COA's Eric Farnsworth for the Latin American Herald Tribune.

Daniel Ortega's re-election as president is not being recognized by his challenger, Fabio Gadea. What happens next? James Bosworth analyzes the Nicaraguan elections in this Americas Quarterly web exclusive.

"Sunday’s elections in Guatemala and Nicaragua were notable for their relative lack of controversy, despite the conclusion of virtually all independent analysts that the former risks a return to the violence of the past and the latter was contrary to Nicaragua’s own constitution," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth.

"The FARC still has the capacity to kill; but its capacity to achieve anything of its supposed political agenda has ended," write AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini and Ryan Berger in an op-ed for CNN Global Public Square.

"The nature of the relationship between the Iranian and Venezuelan autocrats undoubtedly warrants further inspection and close observation," write AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini and Ryan Berger in an op-ed for CNN Global Public Square.