U.S. poised to shift Latin America policies

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The most recent trade deal, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, passed by just one vote last year in the Republican-controlled House. In the Nov. 7 election, 34 House and Senate seats switched hands from supporters of the current model of international trade deals to critics, according to a study by Washington-based Global Trade Watch.

Revisions possible

Some Democrats want to rewrite both the Colombia and Peru agreements to include, among other things, more environmental regulations and stronger guarantees for union organizers.

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Under the administration's "Plan Colombia" policy, the U.S. has provided nearly $5 billion in mostly military aid since 2000 to fight the country's narcotics traffickers and Marxist guerrillas. Although security has improved in many areas, the rebels remain a threat while tons of Colombian cocaine and heroin continue to reach the U.S.

"Six years and $4.7 billion later, the drug-control results are meager at best," Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told a congressional hearing last June.

Many Democrats want to reduce military spending and use the money to boost programs to fight poverty, relocate people displaced by Colombia's 42-year civil war and encourage farmers to plant legal crops.

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