The Latin America Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars has released a policy brief on priorities for US diplomacy in Latin America written by the programs director, Cynthia Arnson.
Arnson calls on the US to “work creatively and honestly to address issues of importance to the region as well as to the United States, and to abandon the notion that we can ‘get our way’ through imposition rather than the same kind of creative diplomacy exercised toward traditional allies in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere.”
She argues that potential instability in Venezuela is the most important challenge right now and provides some wise advice. She suggests the US avoid partisanship which would inevitably backfire, as it has in the past. She supports efforts to reestablish diplomatic relations with the Venezuelan government, and suggest the US work closely with allies in the region, all of whom share an interest in avoiding violence if there is a crisis.
