{ "id": "R42956", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42956", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 437146, "date": "2014-12-19", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:51:29.586609", "title": "Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues for the 113th Congress", "summary": "Geographic proximity has ensured strong linkages between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region, with diverse U.S. interests, including economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policy toward the region under the Obama Administration has focused on four priorities: promoting economic and social opportunity; ensuring citizen security; strengthening effective democratic institutions; and securing a clean energy future. There was substantial continuity in U.S. policy toward the region during the first six years of the Obama Administration, which pursued some of the same basic policy approaches as the Bush Administration. Nevertheless, the Obama Administration made several significant policy changes, including an overall emphasis on partnership and shared responsibility. Moreover, just after the end of the 113th Congress in December 2014, President Obama unveiled a new policy approach toward Cuba that substantially broke with the long-standing U.S. sanctions-based policy and moved toward a policy of engagement.\nU.S. policy toward the region is conducted in the context of a Latin America that has become increasingly independent from the United States. The region has diversified its economic and diplomatic ties with countries outside the region. Over the past few years, several Latin American regional organizations have been established that do not include the United States, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) designed to boost regional integration and cooperation. While to some extent CELAC\u2019s establishment reflected declining U.S. influence in Latin America, the United States still remains very much engaged in the region bilaterally and multilaterally. \nA looming challenge for the United States was how to deal with the next Summit of the Americas, scheduled to be hosted by Panama in April 2015. Cuba had expressed interest in attending the sixth summit in 2012 in Colombia, but ultimately was not invited to attend. The United States and Canada had expressed opposition to Cuba\u2019s participation. Previous summits had been limited to the hemisphere\u2019s democratically elected leaders. Many Latin American countries vowed not to attend the 2015 summit unless Cuba was invited to attend, and as a result, Panama announced in August 2014 that it would invite Cuba to the summit. In December 2014, as President Obama was announcing a new policy approach toward Cuba, the White House announced that the President would participate in the summit, but emphasized that human rights and democracy would be key summit themes.\nCongress plays an active role in policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean. Legislative and oversight attention to the region during the 113th Congress focused on such issues as U.S. support to countries contending with drug trafficking and transnational crime, including Mexico and Central American and Caribbean countries; continued counternarcotics and security support to Colombia as it moved toward a potential peace agreement; and continued support to Haiti as it continued to recover from the 2010 earthquake. Hearings on the region covered these issues as well as a variety of other topics, including overall U.S. interests and policy in the Western Hemisphere; energy issues; U.S. foreign aid to the region; challenges to democracy, including media freedom, the rule of law, and political unrest in Venezuela; concerns about Iranian activities in the region; U.S. relations with such countries as Brazil, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic; and the surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America.\nLegislative action in the 113th Congress included the following: a measure directing the Secretary of State to develop a strategy for adoption of proposed reforms at the Organization of American States (P.L. 113-41); approval of the U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement (a provision in P.L. 113-67); the 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79), with provisions modifying the U.S. cotton program related to a trade dispute with Brazil and requiring State Department reports on a U.S.-Mexico water dispute in the Rio Grande Basin; omnibus appropriations legislation for FY2013 (P.L. 113-6), FY2014 (P.L. 113-76), and FY2015 (P.L. 113-235), which included foreign aid appropriations with numerous provisions on Latin America; a measure requiring an annual report through 2017 on the status of post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in Haiti (P.L. 113-162); and a measure to impose sanctions (visa restrictions and assets blocking) on those persons responsible for certain human rights abuses in Venezuela (S. 2142, not yet assigned a Public Law number). Resolutions approved by either the House or the Senate included S.Res. 12, on Haiti\u2019s reconstruction and recovery; and three resolutions on the political and human rights situation in Venezuela\u2014S.Res. 213, H.Res. 488, and S.Res. 365.\nThis report provides an overview of U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean during the 113th Congress, including the Obama Administration\u2019s priorities; examines changes in the region\u2019s economic and political environment that affect U.S. relations with the region; and analyzes U.S. policy toward the region. The report then examines congressional interests in Latin America, looking at selected regional and country issues and congressional actions taken. Appendices provide U.S.-Latin America trade statistics and links to hearings focused on Latin America.\nFor additional information and access to over 30 CRS reports on the region, see the CRS Issues in Focus webpage on \u201cLatin America and the Caribbean.\u201d", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42956", "sha1": "90d0f218562951ea9c38c8c86867cf3c32c32f82", "filename": "files/20141219_R42956_90d0f218562951ea9c38c8c86867cf3c32c32f82.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42956", "sha1": "aab89d912b79c4d974d49ea7c509298207aa0730", "filename": "files/20141219_R42956_aab89d912b79c4d974d49ea7c509298207aa0730.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc463386/", "id": "R42956_2014Aug29", "date": "2014-08-29", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues for the 113th Congress", "summary": "This report provides an overview of U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Obama Administration's priorities; examines changes in the region's economic and political environment that affect U.S. relations with the region; and analyzes U.S. policy toward the region and various recommendations made by policy analysts and think tanks.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140829_R42956_b5b7f419b90431171893f3aa407300441e78d139.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140829_R42956_b5b7f419b90431171893f3aa407300441e78d139.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations -- Caribbean -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign economic relations -- Caribbean -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign economic relations -- U.S. -- Caribbean", "name": "Foreign economic relations -- U.S. -- Caribbean" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government -- Caribbean", "name": "Politics and government -- Caribbean" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc282313/", "id": "R42956_2014Feb15", "date": "2014-02-15", "retrieved": "2014-04-02T19:38:14", "title": "Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues for the 113th Congress", "summary": "This report provides an overview of U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Obama Administration's priorities; examines changes in the region's economic and political environment that affect U.S. relations with the region; and analyzes U.S. policy toward the region and various recommendations made by policy analysts and think tanks. 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