The Obama administration sought to bolster security ties this week when U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Peru, Colombia, and Barbados. While in Bogota, Gates also pushed for passage of the long-stalled U.S.-Colombia trade pact.

The Colombian elections are off at a gallop, with former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos the current frontrunner. But Noemí Sanín clinched the Conservative Party nomination on March 19 and could serve as a strong contender at the first round of polls on March 30. They face a number of other candidates.

On February 26, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ended more than two years of speculation about a possible third term in office for President Álvaro Uribe. With Uribe out of the running, AS/COA looks at Colombia’s presidential candidates.

Just three months before presidential elections, Colombia's constitutional court voted 7 to 2 against allowing a referendum that would have permitted President Álvaro Uribe to seek a third consecutive term.

From October 2009 through October 2010, seven presidential races are taking place in Latin America, with elections in Uruguay, Honduras, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Brazil. AS/COA offers an interactive guide to the results thus far and poll figures for elections yet to come.

Executive Vice President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives David Stewart-Patterson makes a case in The Hill Times for why the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement is important to the Canadian economy, Colombian citizens, and labor protection standards.

Over the past few years, abortion laws have changed significantly in several Latin American countries as governments respond both to the high number of unsafe procedures and demands for greater restrictions by the Catholic Church.