Stuck Between Pot and Prostitutes: US Foreign Policy in Latin America Evaluation Note/Evren Çelik Wiltse, PhD.

"In April of 2012, the heads of 33 countries in the Western hemisphere got together for the Sixth Summit of the Organization of American States (OAS). Previously, this platform was an opportunity for the US to flex its muscles in its so-called backyard. Lately however, it is becoming more of an embarrassment for the global superpower.

It started with the George W Bush administration. When G. W. Bush cut his trip short and left the 2005 summit early, mainstream pundits in the US interpreted this as a row between the US president and his arch nemesis, Hugo Chavez.

Unfortunately, hemispheric relations did not seem to have improved much, despite the change of teams in the White House. The latest OAS Summit in Cartagena, Columbia was hardly a warm rapprochement between the US and Latin America..."