Venezuela's January-to-December loss in 2017 ranks as the fifth-largest single-year production drop experienced by one country since 2000.

In its first issue of the year, the magazine takes an in-depth look at leading presidential candidates in six countries' 2018 elections.

If 2017 was the year that changed Washington, 2018 will redefine Latin America. AS/COA experts explain how in our first podcast of the year.

“I have a hard time seeing [the government] making sovereign payments next year,” said Francisco Rodriguez, chief economist at hedge fund Torino Capital, during a Venezuela forum at AS/COA. 

In this podcast, Mark Feierstein, NSC senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs in the Obama White House, lays out a multi-pronged strategy for pressuring the Maduro regime ahead of 2018 elections.

"The Trump administration has a policy goal for Venezuela, but is split on how to pursue it," said Mark Feierstein, former senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council, at AS/COA's Venezuela panel.