Although U.S. media and foreign policy institutions have turned attention to other parts of the world, "Latin American seems to have fallen off the radar," writes Ludovico Feoli, who directs the Centro de Investigación y Adiestramiento Político Administrativo in Costa Rica. Yet U.S.-Latin American interests remain intertwined given burgeoning trade relations; growing cultural links stemming from migration; and common security threats such as the drug trade and environmental degradation.

U.S. and Peruvian heads of state met Friday to sign a a bilateral trade deal. But U.S. Congress remains reluctant to move forward on free-trade pacts with Colombia and Panama. At a recent COA event, Colombian Minister Luis Guillermo Plata emphasized that a trade agreement would support stability and prosperity in his country.

Speaking at AS/COA's 7th Annual Latin America Conference, New York Congressman Joseph Crowley emphasized the importance of trade and investment for boosting U.S. relations with Latin America. "We are finally waking up to the importance of economic and social development in our own neighborhood," said Crowley.

U.S. President George Bush hosted Peruvian President Alan García for the signing of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement on December 14 after the deal won overwhelming approval in the Senate. Bush has called on Congress to now take action on the Panama and Colombia agreements.

Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda, author of Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants, played a firsthand role in attempts to forge a U.S.-Mexican immigration deal. He says reform could come in time, but U.S. leaders remain hesitant: "Who wants to take a leadership position on this and then get slammed in Iowa?"

In a Miami Herald editorial, retired U.S. General Barry R. McCaffrey explains that Colombia's robust economy and drastically improved security situation warrant approval of a U.S.-Colombia free-trade agreement—a pact currently stalled in the U.S. Congress.

The head of U.S. Southern Command assesses the unconventional security threats facing the region, ranging from narcotics and gang violence to terrorism. The solution, he argues in the new issue of Americas Quarterly, is hemisphere-wide cooperation.