With a new Congress sworn in, legislative leaders now have an opportunity to respond to the hemisphere’s most pressing socioeconomic, security, and development priorities. This would be a win for the United States and for the Americas.

With a new administration taking the reins, pundits, politicians, and the press offer up ideas for how Barack Obama should handle policy toward Latin America. Top issues include drug violence in Mexico, Cuba relations, and pending trade deals.

On January 13, the AS/COA Trade Advisory Group released this report, detailing ways to reignite trade and integration with Latin America, even during troubled economic times.

International trade expert James Bacchus discusses AS/COA’s new Trade Advisory Group report and the need for the Obama administration “to come forward with some evidence that the United States is willing to work on a hemispheric basis.”

Five decades after the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, U.S.-Cuban relations remain on ice. In an op-ed, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini writes that political prisoners and divided families stand as victims in the two countries' ongoing standoff. (en español)

In a Miami Herald op-ed, COA's Eric Farnsworth examines the U.S.-Panamanian relationship since 1989. "[T]he United States and Panama have gone from hostility and military action to development spurred by globalization and trade," he writes.

Over the past year, Congress made headway in working with Latin America on trade, security, and energy. Looking ahead, 2009 holds great potential for advancing key hemispheric issues.