The Obama administration and the Americas : agenda for change / Abraham F. Lowenthal, Theodore J. Piccone, and Laurence Whitehead, editors.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Strobe Talbott -- Part I. Overview -- Renewing cooperation in the Americas / Abraham F. Lowenthal -- Building a constructive inter-American partnership / Daniel Zovatto -- Supporting democracy in the Americas : the case for multilateral action / Theodore J. Piccone -- Part II. Getting down to hard cases -- Seven steps to improve U.S.-Colombia relations / Michael Shifter -- Human rights and free trade in Colombia / Rodrigo Pardo -- Haiti's political outlook : what the United States should do / Daniel P. Erikson -- Responding to the challenge in Haiti / Juan Gabriel Valdés - Cuba in transition : the role of external actors / Marifeli Pérez-Stable -- Turning the symbol around : returning Guantánamo Bay to Cuba / Bert Hoffman -- Engaging Venezuela : 2009 and beyond / Jennifer McCoy -- United States and Bolivia : test case for change / George Gray Molina -- Rule of law in Mexico : challenges for the Obama administration / Carlos Elizondo and Ana Laura Magaloni -- Part III. Looking ahead -- A project for the Americas / Laurence Whitehead.ad.

"Argues that the Obama administration should focus early and strategically on Latin America because of its impact on issues from energy, narcotics, and immigration to trade and jobs. Contributors emphasize case-by-case, sophisticated, and multilateral approaches to dealing with such hard cases as Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, and Venezuela"--Provided by publisher.