Joel D. Hirst discusses recent arrest of Venezuelan drug lord Walid Makled, and the implications of his extradition from Columbia to the United States.

This study examines low-carbon technology innovation and absorption in China, India, and Brazil. It recommends a course for U.S. policy that promotes accelerated innovation and adoption of new technologies while protecting U.S. commercial interests.

Joel D. Hirst discusses the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and its ambitious plan to control information across Latin America.

The election of Dilma Rousseff as president assures stability on domestic policies that have propelled Brazil in the Lula years, but China and the United States loom as foreign policy challenges, says CFR's Julia Sweig.

Jonathan Pearl argues that in the Russia-Venezuela nuclear deal, the United States must be wary of Venezuela's relationship with Iran.

Venezuela's stepped-up efforts to develop nuclear power and tighten its bonds with Iran require a firm but deft diplomatic response from the Obama administration, write CFR's Joel Hirst and Jonathan Pearl.

Brazil's rapid economic growth has transformed the country into a new global heavyweight, but Brazil must not let an overly ambitious foreign policy agenda distract it from lingering domestic challenges.

Joel D. Hirst says while an anti-racism bill is one step to fighting discrimination in Bolivia, the Bolivian government must not disregard the tenets of liberal democracy.

Joel D. Hirst discusses a document that offers the building blocks for the "21st century socialism."

Elizabeth R. Parker discusses Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Dilma Rousseff, favored to win Brazil's upcoming presidential runoff, would likely fall short on economic reform and tone down the current president's "hyperactive diplomacy," says analyst João Augusto de Castro Neves.

Despite charges by Ecuador's president of a coup, the country is undergoing a serious police protest that got unwieldy, and Washington would be wise to steer clear of the dispute, says CFR's Joel Hirst.

Joel Hirst discusses the implications of Venezuela's national assembly elections.

The Financial Times' John Paul Rathbone and Jonathan Wheatley examine the perennial Brazilian optimism and the international anticipation on the eve of the nation's September presidential election.

Yesterday's National Assembly elections in Venezuela curtailed President Chávez's powers and opened the door to greater cooperation with the United States, says CFR's Joel Hirst.

President of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, discusses Colombia's economic advances, as well as new security measures to combat militants and drug warlords.

President of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, discusses Colombia's economic advances, as well as new security measures to combat militants and drug warlords.

A general discussion with the newly elected President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon.

Venezuela's National Assembly elections this weekend are a referendum on President Hugo Chávez and a "proxy" for the 2012 presidential elections, says expert Michael McCarthy. They could also bolster opposition movements in countries like Bolivia and Ecuador.

Joel Hirst discusses Venezuela's upcoming National Assembly election.