Panel Discussions

With tensions running high between some Andean countries, AS/COA convened a roundtable on economic, political, and security issues affecting the region. The discussion included a keynote speech by Ecuador's Minister of the Government and Police Fernando Bustamante.

Senator Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Americas, Puerto Rico votes, and Argentine farmers renew strikes. Read these stories and more in the Weekly Roundup.

Yon Goicoechea, Venezuelan law student, activist, and founder of the Futuro Presente Foundation describes his plans to start a school for young political leaders. “I believe that to have modern countries, we also have to renew our political structures,” says Goicoechea.

Yon Goicoechea, estudiante venezolano de derecho, activista y fundador de la fundación Futuro Presente describe sus planes de fundar una escuela para líderes políticos jovenes. "Yo creo que para tener países modernos también hace falta renovar nuestras estructuras políticas," dijo Goicoechea.

After more than four decades of civil strife in Colombia, the death of the FARC’s founder and commander Manuel Marulanda's serves as the latest setback for an already weakened rebel group. 

President Rafael Correa appoints a new head of state-owned Petroecuador after official figures show a slowdown in crude oil production. The move comes after Ecuador proposed to cut windfall taxes for private firms and signed a refinery agreement with Venezuela. 

In an AS/COA Online interview, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza describes the role of the agency in negotiating recent border tensions between Ecuador and Colombia, autonomy and recall votes in Bolivia, and U.S.-Cuba relations. "[T]he OAS has to prove itself as the main forum for political dialogue in the Americas," said Insulza.