U.S. Policy

During COA's 42nd Washington Conference, U.S. House of Representatives speaker John A. Boehner said he wants to see the whole Western Hemisphere as a "free enterprise zone [with] free markets, free trade, and free people."

View highlights from Council of the Americas' 42nd Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, held May 8, 2012.

COA's annual event convened senior hemispheric leaders, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou, to dialogue on U.S. partnerships with Latin America as well as the growing importance of Asia-Pacific ties.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s five-day tour of Colombia, Brazil, and Chile focused on regional defense, disaster preparedness, and arms exchanges.

Ahead of the IV Summit of the Americas taking place April 14-15, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini speaks to NY1 Noticias about the disparity between the diverse economic and political realities in Latin America and U.S. policy towards the region. (en español)

"There was a huge anticipation, expectation that the U.S. would fundamentally change policy towards the [Latin American] region, but those expectations were unfounded and indeed many people in the region were disappointed that things did not change overnight from traditional U.S. approaches to the hemisphere," says COA's Eric Farnsworth speaking about the United States' policies towards Latin America over the past three years.