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Entire Region

• Delegations from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) member countries met in Quito, Ecuador on Tuesday to develop a collaborative approach for helping Haiti rebuild after last month's devastating earthquake. The UNASUR member countries reached an agreement to provide $300 million in aid to Haiti - creating a $100 million fund for recovery and reconstruction and offering $200 million in credit through the Inter-American Development Bank. Haitian President Rene Preval also attended the meeting in Quito. He thanked the countries for their support, but also advised that Haiti really needs immediate emergency assistance to help the thousands of Haitians who are still sleeping without a roof (or tent) over their head.
• In 2009 Russia became the primary exporter of weapons to Latin America, surpassing the United States. This increase is mainly attributed to the large purchases made by Venezuela. However, Russia also signed military contracts with Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, with sales totaling over $5.4 billion.

Bolivia

• The BBC reports on the role of women in President Evo Morales' government, writing that "Today women are involved in running the country as never before." Not only is Morales' new cabinet made up of 10 men and 10 women, but women now occupy 30% of the seats in Bolivia's new legislative branch.

Costa Rica

• Over the weekend, Costa Rica elected Laura Chinchilla to be the country's first female president with 47% of the vote. Read news coverage on her victory, and her platform, here.

Colombia

• While in Washington earlier this week, Defense Minister Gabriel Silva said that a high ranking State Department official assured him that the decrease in U.S. aid to Colombia reflected in Obama's FY2011 request was merely part of the across-the-board belt tightening of the president's new budget. Later in the week, however, President Uribe noted he was worried about the reduction in aid and said it was fortunate that Colombia had signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States this year, since it "guarantees the prolongation of the same actions of Plan Colombia."
• In the latest news on President Uribe's potential bid for a third term, a new poll was released in Colombia in which 54% of respondents said they were against the potential third term. Though not speaking directly about reelection, Uribe told the press that "eight years is little time [to govern] a country that in 200 years has only had 47 years of peace."

Colombia, Panama

• In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, President Obama said he would press for the passage of pending free trade agreements with Panama and Colombia in 2010. Though he did say that "different glitches" must be negotiated with each country first. Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) told Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva this week, however, that "this is a complex electoral year with a very heavy domestic agenda," according to Defense Minister Silva, so it could still be hard to pass the controversial agreements, despite the President's agenda.

Ecuador

• A large protest against Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was held in the port city of Guayaquil yesterday. The city's mayor, Jaime Nebot, spoke to the protesters, calling President Correa's government "a dictatorship" and "a repulsive copy of that failed scheme that Chávez has imposed for the misfortune of Venezuelans."

Honduras

• On Wednesday, the World Bank announced it is restoring development aid to Honduras that had been frozen after the coup d'etat in June. In addition to restoring a planned loan of $270 million, the World Bank said it will add $120 million in new credit to the country, which recently announced it only had $50 million left in government coffers.
• Former Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein announced that the truth commission to investigate the events that led to the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya will be officially formed on February 25th. The findings of the truth commission will then be released sometime this summer - the Associated Press says June and Honduras' Tiempo says no later than August.

Mexico

• President Felipe Calderón appears to have spent the week trying to assuage anger that surfaced after 15 teens were killed at a birthday party in the violent border city of Ciudad Juárez. Though he said he would not pull the army and federal police out of Ciudad Juarez, President Calderón did say it was time to launch an overdue expansion of the drug war to include efforts aimed at tackling social issues. This new initiative would include sports centers for youths, more schools and day care centers and financial aid for 25,000 families living in poverty in Ciudad Juárez. Many people, including family members of the teens killed last week, protested Calderón's visit to Ciudad Juárez yesterday, calling for both his apology for linking the dead youth to organized crime and his resignation.

Venezuela

• Earlier this week, Venezuelan President Chávez announced his new radio show, "Suddenly Chávez." The name is appropriate for the new show, as it will not have a scheduled time slot, and can come on air anytime, day or night. As President Chávez put it, " When you hear the pluck of a harp on the radio, maybe Chávez is coming. It's suddenly, at any time, maybe midnight, maybe early morning."
• On the first airing of "Suddenly Chávez", the president declared an electricity emergency in Venezuela. The new declaration included the announcement of penalties for over-consumption of electricity and incentives for those that cut consumption. The recent electricity emergency also forced Chávez to cancel his plan to attend the UNASUR meeting in Quito, thereby losing the opportunity for a face-to-face between the two dueling presidents - Chávez and Colombia's Uribe.