ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with a large number of interstate organizations in which the Latin American and Caribbean states have participated. The interstate organizations are divided into four categories. The first two categories are as follows: regional and subregional organizations, the result of Latin American and Caribbean formation of political and economic integration and other interstate groupings among themselves; and the multipurpose Inter-American System, which eventually included all of the western hemispheric states as members. The third category, is the other formal bilateral and multilateral arrangements (international regimes) within the Americas—Mexican-US border agreements, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the effort to create a Western Hemisphere Free Trade Area, and the Panama Canal treaty arrangements. The fourth category, is the global associations—the League of Nations and the United Nations. The participation of the Latin American states has reflected their desire to participate in international affairs beyond the Western Hemisphere and to present a united front to the outside world.
