Shannon K. O'Neil says after Republicans' election-year drubbing, the United States has an historic opportunity to fix its broken immigration system. And the arguments against reform simply don't hold up anymore.

Brazil's rise never depended on the sale of commodities, and thanks to recent reforms, the country will continue to prosper, write Shannon O'Neil, Richard Lapper, and Larry Rohter. Ronaldo Lemos, meanwhile, claims that those reforms have not gone far enough.

Shannon K. O'Neil discusses how a stronger democracy will help check the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico.

Shannon K. O'Neil testifies before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs and  Committee on Homeland Security on the way forward for U.S.-Mexico security cooperation.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón's state visit to Washington could highlight immigration concerns at a time of growing cross-border partnership on Mexico's drug war, says CFR's Shannon O'Neil.

Shannon O'Neil discusses how Mexico and the United States are heading toward a new collaboration in tackling drug violence.

A new shift in U.S.-Mexico security cooperation that focuses on border surveillance and the underpinnings of drug violence is a good long-term approach, but will require patience on both sides, says CFR Latin America expert Shannon O'Neil.

In Ciudad Juarez, where three people with connections to the U.S. consulate were killed over the weekend, it's local gangs rather than drug cartels that are spreading violence, says CFR's Shannon O'Neil. To fight them, part of what's needed is better law and police enforcement and better education.

Shannon O'Neil discusses the prospects for the United States' relationship with Brazil.

The election of a new president, argues Shannon K. O'Neil, ushers in new era for politics in Chile.

CFR Fellow Shannon K. O'Neil says Brazil is "taking ownership" of diplomacy surrounding the Honduras political stalemate in part because the Organization of American States has been unable to effectively manage the crisis.

Shannon K. O'Neil provides an annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on Mexican politics.

Shannon K. O'Neil discusses crime and violence in Venezuela.

This report from the Center for International Governance (CIGI) identifies opportunities to lay the groundwork for the development of concrete initiatives to address the
strategic needs of the Western Hemisphere for a sustainable energy future.

Brazen assassinations, kidnappings, and political intimidation by drug lords conjure up images of Colombia in the early 1990s. Yet today it is Mexico that is being engulfed by escalating violence, and U.S. gun laws, immigration rules, drug control and border policies all have exacerbated the problems.

Shannon K. O'Neil writes that, "South American integration has the potential to lessen an unhealthy dynamic within U.S.-Latin America relations."

Shannon K. O'Neil discusses America's influential role in the war on drugs.

Shannon O'Neil writes that "Mexico has a chance to shape the international agenda. It is an opportunity Calderón should not waste."

Shannon K. O'Neil and Sebastian Chaskel write that "the U.S. can improve Colombia's human rights situation by bolstering economic opportunities through the FTA."

This module features teaching notes by CFR Douglas Dillon Fellow for Latin America Studies Shannon K. O'Neil, director of the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on Latin America, U.S.-Latin America Relations: A New Direction for a New Reality, along with other resources to supplement the text. This Task Force report offers recommendations for U.S. policy toward Latin America and identifies four crucial areas—poverty and inequality, public security, migration, and energy security—that should provide the basis of a new U.S. approach.

CFR's Latin America Studies Program outlines the implications of the global financial crisis for Latin America.

Not only does the United States affect Latin America, but Latin America increasingly shapes the United States as well says Shannon O’Neil. Yet despite these deepening strategic, economic, cultural and political ties, U.S. policies toward the region have remained relatively unexamined.