• Collapse of Health Care in Venezuela

  Wednesday, 29 April 2015

  Article details the virtual collapse of health care in Venezuela. The shortage of medicines and supplies for operations, corrupt bureaucracy, and the exodus of doctors (including Cuban medics) is creating serious problems. In addition, food subsidies and price controls for foods heavy in carbohydrates, sugars, and fats adds to the high rate of obesity.
  
  

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• Ambassador of Panama talks business opportunities in Philadelphia

  
  Tuesday, 21 April 2015

  The ambassador of Panama to the United States, Emanuel González-Revilla, talked about what his country has to offer in terms of business opportunities during the annual luncheon of the Pan-American Association.

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• Ambassador Duddy on Venezuelan Crisis, US Sanctions, Regional Reaction

  Friday, 17 April 2015

  Former Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, comments on the crisis in Venezuela, the recent imposition of sanctions on Venezuelan officials, and the role of the Union of South American Nations. Summary:
  “The language in the U.S. executive order characterizing Venezuela a threat to the national security of the United States may seem hyperbolic to some but the crisis in Venezuela is real. UNASUR efforts to encourage dialogue last year failed. At the same meeting at which they scolded the U.S. for interventionism, they announced their intention to try again to foster a dialogue between the Maduro government and its domestic opponents. North Americans should wish them success. Criticizing the U.S. for taking the very limited steps contemplated by President Obama’s executive order will not improve the reality on the ground in Venezuela. Maybe a new mediation effort will fare better. It is in no one’s interest to see Venezuela collapse—either politically or economically. But stability achieved at the price of the political liberties that the region worked so hard to recover in the relatively recent past is not going resolve the problems of the present moment.”
  This report appeared originally in American Diplomacy. Readers can link to homepage: http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/. Ambassador Duddy is currently director of Duke University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
  

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• What did the Summit Accomplish?

  Wednesday, 15 April 2015

  A range of Latin American experts, from former diplomats, to the former president of Costa Rica, to academics and business people, comment on the achievements of the Summit of the Americas held in Panama last week.

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• The Correa-Obama Bout

  Wednesday, 15 April 2015

  The Seventh Summit of the Americas held in Panama on April 10-11 will be remembered for the good vibrations between President Barack Obama and Raúl Castro on the promise of normalization of relations with Cuba. Overlooked, however, was a remarkable exchange between Obama and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. The incident went largely unreported by the American media, which suffers attention deficit disorder on Latin America. It’s worth reviewing it in order to understand contrasting views on the nature of democracy—the checks and balances of American democracy versus the guided democracy of Latin America where the executive is powerful, at times authoritarian.

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• A Clash of Histories

  Tuesday, 14 April 2015

  Dr. Orlando Perez, Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Millersville University, comments on the recently concluded Seventh Summit of the Americas. He draws a contrast between the forward looking statements of President Obama and those Latin American presidents who looked at the past to criticize the United States.

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• Engaging with Latin America

  Monday, 13 April 2015

  New York Times editorializes about ways that the United States can engage with Latin America. These include mending relations with Brazil, Venezuela, and Cuba. In addition, attention should be given to energy security for Caribbean nations and immigration.

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• US Priorities at the Summit

  Monday, 13 April 2015

  Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, outlines the key issues for the United States at the Summit of the Americas. They are cooperation on democracy and human rights, global competitiveness, social development, energy and climate change, as well as engagement with Cuba and Brazil.
  

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• All Kinds of Cubans at Summit

  Monday, 13 April 2015

  The Summit of the Americas I n Panama will be remembered not only for the presidential level discussions. A band of Cubans from both the government and civil society attended. “It’s kind of a beautiful thing. You have Cubans going together and interacting,” said Christopher Sabatini, adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. That this widely diverse Cuban contingent came together at the Summit “demonstrates for the Cuban government a real element of change. It allowed opponents to go to a summit and speak and participate as equals,” added Sabatini.

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• Summit of Lies?

  Friday, 10 April 2015

  Moisés Naím, former editor of Foreign Policy magazine, prolific writer, and former minister in the Venezuelan government writes in Madrid’s prestigious El País that the Summit of the Americas in Panama is a time for celebration, and there will also be a confrontation between the mentiras of the Venezuelan government and its supporters in the Hemisphere and those who want to promote a genuine agenda based on the Summit’s theme: “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas.”

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