Speaking at COA's 39th Washington Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recognized that democratic elections are now the norm in the Western Hemisphere and argued that the next step is to address social inequality.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg outlined the Obama administration’s new approach to the Americas, which rests on two pillars: democratic governance and inclusive prosperity. As part of this, the United States “has a responsibility to exercise responsible leadership.”

At the opening reception for the 39th Washington Conference on the Americas, the Council honored U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) with the Chairman's Award for Leadership in the Americas. Read a summary of his remarks and listen to the audio of his acceptance speech.

At the opening reception for the 39th Washington Conference on the Americas, the Council honored U.S. Representative Elliot Engel (D-NY) with the Chairman's Award for Leadership in the Americas. Read his remarks.

In this article for El Diario/La Prensa, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini argues that, in the wake of the recent Summit of the Americas, concrete steps must be taken to capitalize on the good will created by the new administration’s fresh approach to its Latin neighbors. (en español | in English)

For all the talk about Cuba and Venezuela, leaders moved forward on other fronts as well during the weekend's Summit of the Americas. On the sidelines, U.S. President Barack Obama signaled action on a trade pact with Colombia and a hemispheric clean-energy partnership.

"The calculus is simple: if we can’t get it right with Mexico, our closest Latin neighbor both literally and figuratively, we’ll have trouble with the rest of our hemispheric agenda," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in an article for Poder.