ABSTRACT
To craft a policy toward Latin America, it is first necessary to understand US interests in Latin America. This chapter explores the requirements of a more goal-oriented policy in Latin America than the United States has had recently and to explain the limits and constraints on the choices inherent in that policy in other words, what we might seek to accomplish and what we might seek to prevent. It presents a definition of US interests in Latin America. Regional economic prosperity is a key interest of the United States. The chapter provides a discussion of current policies and their relations to specific US interests. It discusses US attitudes and actions related to the Contadora peace process in Central America. A definition of US interests in Latin America must encompass political, economic, and security considerations, in addition to the narrower concept of military security usually adopted.
