The OAS General Assembly met in El Salvador to focus on the issue of violent crime plaguing many parts of the Americas. But regional leaders differ on how to forge new solutions.

"Guatemala is on the brink." writes COA's Eric Farnsworth for Poder360. "A multinational donor strategy designed to lock in policy, no matter who the next president is, would be the most promising place to begin."

View highlights from Council of the Americas' 41st Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, held May 10-11, 2011.

Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa traveled to Washington April 29 for a security summit. While the two countries investigate next steps in the bilateral fight against transnational crime, Mexico faces illicit arms trafficking across both its northern and southern borders.

AS/COA Online speaks with Mexico’s youngest governor about his country’s new generation of leaders, as well as his government’s plans to boost environmental stability, infrastructure development, and public safety in his state.

With Colombia's Supreme Court clearing the way for the extradition of alleged drug kingpin Walid Makled, the Santos government faces a difficult choice between sending him to the United States or Venezuela. Makled indicated he has evidence linking top Venezuelan officials drug trafficking.

Central American security concerns were on the agenda during the U.S. president’s March 22 stop in San Salvador. His visit coincides with plans to bump up funding for the region’s struggle against rising gang-related violence.