In a couple of days, the Obama administration’s new officer for Latin American affairs, Arturo Valenzuela will start his South American tour, which includes Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Before his trip, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton considered necessary to remind to Governments in place in the afore-mentioned countries, that they should think twice about making any deal with Iran or even allowing it to start business with Latin America. The warning comes a bit too late, after Chávez and Evo Morales and even the former faithful Brazil have been exploring several types of partnership with Ahmadinejad.
Flirting with such a dangerous enemy is not allowed, Clinton said, and after the extraordinarily clear Obama’s Nobel speech, leftists governments in the region should finally understand that the United States’ foreign policy makes no concessions in what concerns safety and war on terror. Arturo Valenzuela has a hard task to accomplish during this following week and his remaining days in office: to convince Latin Americans, presidents as well as citizens, that their safety is also at stake when the United States’ safety is threatened. That is, to convince people in Latin America to think continentally. There will be no permanent solution to the U.S. and Latin America relationship without working on a common continental frame of mind first, and on a political, commercial, and military union, later.
The Continental Blog 
