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Andres Oppenheimer
If President Barack Obama appoints Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton when he starts his second term next month, as some administration officials anticipate, you may see a somewhat greater U.S. focus on Latin American affairs.
It's not that Kerry is an expert in the region or that he would be any more interested in Latin American affairs than Clinton. He's not - just as Clinton wasn't.
The difference would be that Kerry's current job as chairman of the powerful
Judging from what I'm told by well-placed congressional sources of both parties, there would not be a great difference between Kerry and Clinton as secretary of state.
Both are political heavyweights: Kerry was the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate and became chairman of the
When it comes to Latin American issues, Kerry made his biggest - some would say only - mark in the late 1980s, when he played a key role in the congressional investigation into the Iran-contra scandal in Central America. Since then, his main focus has been Afghanistan, Iran and other world hotspots.
When I interviewed Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign, he conceded that he didn't personally know any of the major Latin American leaders. On the other hand, his world view was much more in tune with Latin American leaders than that of then-President George W. Bush.
Congressional sources tell me that if Menendez replaces Kerry at the helm of the
Menendez is also a strong proponent of greater U.S. economic assistance to Latin America - a tough assignment in budget-cutting season, granted - and of investigating Iran's activities in Venezuela, Bolivia and other Iranian allies in the region.
A supporter of U.S. sanctions on Cuba, he also has signed, along with Kerry and Republican Sens. Richard Lugar and Marco Rubio, a letter denouncing the 34-country
While Menendez does not get along too well with the
Engel, in turn, told me that in his potential new job, "I will try everything I can to strengthen and enhance U.S. ties with Latin America," and that "with Bob Menendez and myself leading the Democrats in both committees, I would look forward to both of us working to strengthen relations with Latin America."
My opinion: The likely promotion of Menendez and Engel to top congressional jobs, as well as the growing political weight of Latinos in the United States following the crucial Hispanic support for Obama in the
This combination of factors will make it easier to pass immigration reform in
But it may also translate into other U.S. initiatives, including a re-formulation of U.S. anti-drug polices and closer trade ties with Mexico, Peru, Chile and other Pacific Rim countries that are part of Obama's proposed
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U.S. May Pay More Attention to Latin America in Obama's Second Term | News of the World