Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, yesterday spoke on the Senate floor about the Merida Initiative, a bilateral proposal between the U.S. and Mexico designed to combat the drastic increase in drug related violence in Mexico. 

This weekend, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will lead a Senate delegation to Monterrey, Mexico for the annual Mexico-U.S. Interparliamentary Group Meeting. The group will meet with their Mexican counterparts to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues including immigration, trade, border security, and ways to encourage cooperation across the border. Dodd, who is the longtime Chairman of the Senate Interparliamentary Group, will deliver remarks at the meeting’s opening ceremony on Saturday. 

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, last Friday delivered the Keynote address to the Andean Forum for Regional Security to lay out a blueprint for how the United States can change course and take a new direction in regards to our Latin America policies by addressing issues of mutual concern: Public Security and the Rule of Law, Poverty and Inequality, and Energy Integration.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, and Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) will meet with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to discuss U.S. – Latin American relations.  Following the meeting, Senator Dodd and Congressman Becerra will hold a press conference to discuss their meeting.

Dodd is traveling in Latin America this week to continue to lay out his vision for a strategic partnership between the United States and Latin America. Earlier this year, Dodd laid out a blueprint for the future of hemispheric policy – a “Strategic Partnership in the Americas” – in remarks before the United States Naval Academy, the Organization of American States, and the World Affairs Council. Dodd believes that the United States should move forward toward a more comprehensive approach to Latin America, based on mutual respect, and a commitment to three key areas of interest: Strengthening Public Security and the Rule of Law; Reducing Poverty and Inequality, and Enhancing Energy Integration and Innovation.

Senator Chris Dodd, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs released the following statement today on his visit to Bolivia.  Earlier today, Dodd met with Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Marcelo Garcia Linera in La Paz to discuss issues of mutual interest and regional developments.  Dodd is traveling in Latin America this week to continue to lay out his vision for a strategic partnership between the United States and Latin America.

Next week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will travel to Latin America to continue to lay out his vision for a strategic partnership between the United States and Latin America. During his trip, Dodd will deliver a keynote address to the Andean parliament to lay out a blueprint for how our two governments can work together to address issues of mutual concern: Public Security and the Rule of Law, Poverty and Inequality, and Energy Integration. He will also meet with key regional leaders to establish closer working relationships in order to advance prosperity and partnership in our hemisphere.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, today chaired a hearing of the full Foreign Relations Committee to consider several nominations important to the hemisphere.

The full text of Senator Dodd’s prepared opening remarks is below:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the United States Naval Academy’s Foreign Affairs Conference.  In his address, Dodd will lay out a blueprint charting a new course for U.S.—Latin America relations in the 21^st Century.  Senator Dodd is widely respected as one of the Senate’s foremost experts on Latin America.   

Two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who are prominent on Latin American issues have called on the Organization of American States to continue to foster the diplomacy that is helping diffuse the tense situation along Colombia’s borders with Ecuador and Venezuela.

"If it were up to me, I would lift the embargo against Cuba the next day, and it would end your regime in three months,: José María Aznar, the former Spanish prime minister, reported saying in a 1998 meeting with Fidel Castro.