President Hugo Chávez’s announcement he was being treated for cancer has raised questions about Venezuela’s capacity to transition after 12 years under a strongly vertical political power structure.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been unusually quiet during a prolonged recovery from emergency surgery while in Cuba. But energy shortages and a prison riot draw attention to the leadership vacuum back at home.

With Colombia's Supreme Court clearing the way for the extradition of alleged drug kingpin Walid Makled, the Santos government faces a difficult choice between sending him to the United States or Venezuela. Makled indicated he has evidence linking top Venezuelan officials drug trafficking.

Conventional wisdom held that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez would see decreased power after September 2010 midterm elections. In an article for ForeignAffairs.com, AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini dispels this notion and forecasts that the Chávez government will step up expropriations ahead of the 2012 presidential vote.

As natural disasters impact crop yields and global food prices continue to rise, experts worry that food scarcity will continue to haunt Latin America’s poor and vulnerable in 2011.

Leopoldo López, founder of Voluntad Popular and prominant politician, joined Americas Society and Council of the Americas on December 13 for a discussion about Venezuela’s political and economic outlook ahead of December 2012 presidential elections. Watch the video.