Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a brief stop in Chile today, delivering 25 satellite phones to the president as part of a larger U.S. aid package that will follow.

For the more on the situation in Chile, Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Christopher Sabatini, the Senior Director of Policy at the Council of the Americas. He says that Chile is prepared to handle much of the situation on its own, with targeted assistance from the U.S. and other countries.

In Concepción, Chile’s second largest city, rescue teams race against time to find survivors. Lucía Newman of Al Jazeera English has this report:

Al Jazeera English’s Teresa Bo has the latest on the destruction in the battered coastal town of Constitución:

Thirty-two leaders from the Americas agreed to create a new regional cooperation organization — the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States — would exclude the U.S. and Canada.

Many Latin American leaders have voiced their concern that America’s interests have too often dominated diplomacy in the region. The new organization’s mission will be to defend human rights in the Western hemisphere.

For more, Martin Savidge interviews Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy at the Council of the Americas.

Do you agree with the Latin American leaders who say the U.S. has sometimes acted badly toward Latin America?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Please be respectful and on-point. Malicious or offensive comments will be deleted, and repeat offenders will be banned.

They discuss natural resources, relations with Cuba, Venezuela and the war on drugs.

Also, watch our signature video on lithium in Bolivia, in which Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer venture to “Salar de Uyuni” — the largest salt flat in the world.

And listen to Worldfocus Radio: Resources in the Developing World.

For more on the Obama and the World series click here.

Creer in Cuba website.

The Catholic Church in Cuba launched a new website on Monday that aims to provide a virtual forum for the island’s faithful,  “Creer en Cuba” (Believing in Cuba.)  According to an announcement on the Cuban Catholic Bishops Conference Web site, it is intended to serve as a meeting place for “those who live, dream, work and hope in Cuba and the Cuban community overseas.”

Although Cuba has the lowest internet usage in the Americas, Cuba has seen a surge of dissident bloggers who use the Internet to voice their concerns about the Castro regime. One such blogger, Yoani Sanchez, was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and recently received a reply from President Barack Obama to questions she posed in a letter.

Earlier today we spoke with Chris Sabatini — the Senior Director of Policy at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Editor-in-Chief of the Americas Quarterly — about the state of the blogosphere in Cuba.

WORLDFOCUS: What is the state of people’s access to the internet in Cuba today?

SABATINI: Cuba has the lowest levels of internet access in the hemisphere, around 13%–lower than Haiti’s.  The reason is largely because the Cuban government maintains strict limits on the Internet on the island.  Only Cubans with official or government jobs are allowed access to the Internet; and access a number of websites is blocked on the island. Regular Cuban citizens only have access through international hotels but the rate can be as high as $9 an hour–equal to roughly the weekly salary of a Cuban doctor.

President Obama on April 13th announced a change in regulations to allow U.S. companies to increase activities in Cuba to allow for greater communications from the island to the outside world.  Unfortunately, the regulations that were announced continue to place strict limitations on the sale to Cuba of supplies and equipment that is necessary for establishing the necessary infrastructure for providing access on the island. As a result the levels of connectivity envisioned by the President may not happen.

WORLDFOCUS: We’ve seen a surge in dissident bloggers in Cuba, such as the case of Yoani Sanchez.  Why now?

SABATINI: Younger generation Cubans are discovering the Internet as a means of communication with the outside world.  It provides a powerful and modern way for them to tell their stories.  But it comes at a cost.  Yoani herself no longer has access to her blog.  She and many others are forced to type up their blogs and then send them via e-mail from hotel computers to friends overseas who post them for her.  But there is also the risk of repression.  Yoani and a number of her friends were recently picked up by police and beaten in the back of the police car.  Her blogs, though, remain achingly beautiful depictions of the despair and irony of modern-day Cuba and are available in English.

WORLDFOCUS: What is the significance of the Catholic Church starting a blog in Cuba?

SABATINI: The Catholic Church has been active for a long time, often through its parishes and lay members in publishing and disseminating documents related to civic culture, religious freedom, and the like. By their very nature these publications, like the now defunct Vitral, were very strong cracks and challenges to the control over society that the Cuban regime maintains.  The Church’s new blog is an extension of those efforts–but of course with a modern twist.  Of course for the millions of Cubans who don’t have access to the Internet, it will have little direct impact. But it will allow the Church to inform the outside world far more easily than they could through their print publications and provide a channel for the voices of those inside the island who have been held silent for so long.
- Ivette Feliciano

Sabatini discusses how globalization, democracy and the search for natural resources are contributing to the increase in indigenous political movements. He also explains who is being effected and how activism is impacting countries across the region.

He analyzes the factors that led to the breakthrough agreement between the deposed president and the de facto government and the likelihood it will succeed.

Earlier in the week, there was a violent clash at the airport in Tegucigalpa when a plane carrying Zelaya was turned away. Competing protests have rocked the capital city.

Sandra Cuffe is an independent Canadian journalist currently in Tegucigalpa. On Monday, the day after the standoff at the airport, she joined Worldfocus to discuss the mood at the riots, the impact on daily life in Honduras and the range of possible outcomes.

Below, view a slideshow from recent protests, also by Sandra Cuffe:

Worldfocus also spoke with Greg Weeks, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the editor of the journal The Latin Americanist, about the implications of the recent coup.

Worldfocus: What provoked the coup and did it come as a surprise?

Greg Weeks: The precise timing of the coup was provoked by President Zelaya attempting to go through with the vote about a constitutional commission even though the Supreme Court, Congress, and the armed forces had told him it was unconstitutional. The coup occurred on the Sunday of the scheduled vote.

Conflict between Zelaya and other major political actors in Honduras was long-standing and sometimes bitter. It was well known that Congress was working on formal accusations against Zelaya, and he had publicly criticized the idea of what he called a “technical coup.” Nonetheless, few observers expected a full military coup.

Worldfocus: Has public opinion swayed in either direction in Honduras? Did Hondurans support the referendum?

Greg Weeks: We know that Zelaya was unpopular at the time of the coup (with an approval rating of approximately 30 percent) but we do not know the levels of national support for his forced removal. Both sides claim massive support, but at least for now it is not possible to know for sure.

It is safe to say, though, that a majority of Hondurans did not support the referendum and he likely would have lost it.

Worldfocus: International reaction has been swift, with many (including the U.S. and Organization of American States) urging Zelaya’s return. Has this had any effect?

Greg Weeks: Yes, it put Micheletti and other coup supporters immediately on the defensive and quickly started to pinch the country economically. Plus, the fact that governments as ideologically distant as Colombia and Venezuela were united on this issue made it more difficult for anyone to claim there was ideological bias.

Worldfocus: What are Hugo Chavez’s interests?

Greg Weeks: His primary interest is having another regional ally like Zelaya remain in power. But he and other leftist presidents also have a strong interest in ensuring that other would-be coup makers get the message that international opinion is firmly against such actions (which, of course, is ironic given Chávez’s own background as a coup leader).

Worldfocus: And what of U.S. interests, and the possibility that the U.S. may cut off aid?

Greg Weeks: The U.S. has very little concrete at stake in this crisis, but it is the first Latin American crisis for President Obama, so he is interested in ensuring that his rhetoric of support for democracy and dialogue is taken seriously.

A full cut-off of aid would be a last ditch effort and is the main “stick” the United States wields. As a result, I think it is the least likely policy option, and would be used only if every single other possibility had been exhausted.

Worldfocus: In your opinion, how will the current stalemate end?

Greg Weeks: This crisis has been fluid and unpredictable, so I can’t really say much for certain. I do tend to think that there will be some sort of negotiated solution. There will be massive pressure, both from outside Honduras and inside (as the cutoff of aid from various sources squeezes the economy) for Micheletti to negotiate. Meanwhile, Zelaya knows that negotiation is the only way he can return to the country without invasion — which no one supports, despite Chávez’s comments on the topic.

Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy at the Council of the Americas, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the political situation in Honduras and the role of the U.S.

Many world leaders, from U.S. President Barack Obama to President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, called for Zelaya’s reinstatement. This marks the first Central American coup since the Cold War.

Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas, joins Martin Savidge to analyze the consequences of the military coup.

Bellow, bloggers in Honduras react to the coup.

A blogger from Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, is fearful what the coup may bring:

I fear we have gone from bad to worse. At least Zelaya seemed to speak out for the poor. As one priest said this morning, despite all his errors and his vanity, Zelaya was the first major leader in many years to offer people a little bit of openness to the needs of the poor. The priest said he is not supporting the person Zelaya, but the cause of the poor. Micheletti is closely tied with the economic powers to be. An indication of his position is his support of privatization of water in his own district.

Another blogger from Honduras disagrees, stating that Zelaya is to blame:

[...] Zelaya has been trying to usurp the authority of the other two branches of government with his actions of the last few weeks. If anyone was trying to overthrow the government, it was him.

A Peace Corps volunteer takes a neutral stance, pointing to the difficulty in choosing a side:

[...] many countries are around the world are denouncing the coup by the military and the U.S. government is stating it’s against democracy. In my opinion, it is very difficult to take a stance on this. President Zelaya was motivated a lot by legacy along with his buddies in Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia. There were a lot of manipulation and alternate motives during his presidency. However, the way his own government took him out of power is not the way to do things.

The story also received prominent news coverage around the world, with newspapers in Latin America and elsewhere highlighting the fact that Judge Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee.

Christopher Sabatini, a senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how the news of Sotomayor’s nomination is playing in Latin America and the role of women in the judiciary in Latin America.

Ask an expert your questions on the H1N1 flu virus.

Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses how quickly the H1N1 virus is spreading, how world governments have responded to the crisis and the potential for a vaccine.

Eric Klinenberg, a professor at New York University and author of “Fighting for air: The battle to control America’s media,” discusses how U.S. and foreign media have fared in terms of covering the H1N1 outbreak.

Asia has suffered through a series of health crises in recent years — most recently the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. Simon Tay, the chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and member of the Asia Society, discusses how the crisis is playing out in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and China and looks at which countries are best prepared to deal with the H1N1 outbreak.

Of course, no country has been affected by the H1NI outbreak so deeply as Mexico. Mexico has also suffered a great deal of economic damage, and it has concerns about how other countries are reacting to the epidemic. Christopher Sabatini, the senior policy director of the Council of the Americas, discusses economic damage from the flu, complaints that Mexicans are being discriminated against and how Mexico’s southern neighbors view its handling of the crisis.

Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas and an expert on Latin American affairs, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Secretary of State Clinton’s visit to Mexico,  whether the newly announced initiative to increase security along the U.S.-Mexico border will help end the drug violence and if talk of Mexico becoming a failed state helps or hurts the situation.

Read more analysis from Worldfocus editorial consultant Peter Eisner: Border fence can’t hide growing challenges in Mexico.

This comes as human rights organizations complain that the the military is deliberately killing civilians and making it look as though they were armed leftist rebels so as to to inflate the count of rebels killed.

Christopher Sabatini, director of policy at the Council of the Americas, explains the ties between the U.S. government and the Colombian military, human rights abuses and the Colombian government’s oversight and control.