Speaker on Latin America says U.S. has lost ground


Daniel Linsker, vice president for Control Risks' Global services in South America, said that the U.S. focuses on its domestic issues of immigration and security while Latin Americans want to discuss trade, finance and partnership at a May 10 Newsmaker event.

He believes the U.S. has lost a lot of ground in relations with Latin America because of this discrepancy. He said it has serious implications for foreign policy, geopolitical and economic interest in the region as well as potential implications for how U.S. companies do business.

Although these generalizations can be made, “One of the things that frustrate Latin Americans is when they all get stuck in the same pile. They are very different countries with very different sets of issues,” Linsker said.

Presently, the U.S. is unable to count on support of Latin America but will have to work for it and engage in discussion, according to Linsker. He believes Latin America wants to be a partner and talk about issues that matter to them. The difficulty between the U.S. and Latin America didn’t happen overnight and will take some time to repair, Linsker said.