Central American leaders gathered in San Salvador July 20 to coordinate strategies for stemming the rising tide of violence caused by organized crime, particularly in the “northern triangle” of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Barbados to support the recent launch of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. The agreement, proposed last year by U.S. President Barack Obama, provides funds for anti-corruption and counternarcotics operations in 15 Caribbean countries.
AS/COA held an April panel discussion on infrastructure and development in Central America. Discussion centered on an economic and investment outlook for the region, infrastructure development, and the importance of enhancing regional and global trade relations.
Leaders from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas met October 16 and 17 in Cochabamba, where they charted a course for implementing a virtual currency that could replace the dollar in commercial transactions. ALBA also imposed a blockade on Honduras.
AS/COA Honorary Chairman David Rockefeller urges the White house to resist protectionist demands that could further weaken the U.S. economy. "President Obama should recognize the critical need for a free flow of trade and finance across the world’s borders," he writes in The New York Times.
The State Department took new measures, including a cut of over $30 million in aid, to pressure the de facto government in Honduras toward resolving the political impasse stemming from the coup. The Central American country faces increasing economic isolation since the June overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya.
