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The presidents of the Americas (with some notable exceptions) will gather once again later this month. President Obama will likely again focus on partnership, engagement, and co-responsibility. These are the right ideas, and they can revolutionize our relationship with the hemisphere.

The upcoming OAS General Assembly, has as its theme “Citizen Security in the Americas,” a key issue given the alarming levels of violence in the region.

When President Obama embarks on his trip to Latin America this week, he will encounter a very different political environment than he found at the Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago, where Latin American leaders practically tripped over each other to shake his hand and pose for the proverbial photo op.

We will hear words like “partnership” and “engagement” used frequently during the visit. While positive, these words have little meaning if they don’t come with a commitment to expend resources to help our “partners” address their main concerns.

As the Obama administration seeks to close the huge U.S. deficit without raising taxes, cutting defense or reducing entitlements, programs like foreign assistance are likely to suffer.

Waiting for Change documents the complexities and disappointments of the Obama Administration’s relations with Latin America in its first year. The report identifies an underlying trend toward greater militarization of U.S. foreign policy which spans Democratic and Republican administrations alike.

Excerpts from an event on October 2, 2007, sponsored by WOLA and the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, on the extradition of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori.