President Dilma Rousseff decided on Tuesday to cancel her planned trip to the United States next Thursday to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, to be held in Washington.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the Fed still envisions a gradual pace of interest rate increases in light of global pressures that could weigh on the economy. Yellen did not specify a timetable for further hikes to follow the Fed's rate increase in December from record lows. She said the risks to the United States remain limited but cautions that assessment is subject to “considerable uncertainty.”
In another display of support for the Argentine administration of president Mauricio Macri, the government of the United States affirmed it has “significant foreign policy interests” in finding a “rapid” resolution to the long-standing dispute between Argentina and bondholders.
President Barack Obama paid homage on Thursday to victims of Argentina's former US-backed dictatorship, admitting the United States was “slow to speak out for human rights” in those dark days. Obama became the first US president to formally acknowledge the victims of the 1976-1983 military regime, which declassified documents have revealed was supported by top US officials.
Argentine president Mauricio Macri at the beginning of the press conference Wednesday midday in Casa Rosada (Government House), highlighted the visit of Barack Obama's to Argentina and said “a stage of mature, intelligent and constructive relations is beginning.”
In his first press conference in Buenos Aires, United States president Barack Obama sent a strong message of support to his peer Mauricio Macri and his policies, praising him for the swift pace of reforms to create a stronger economy and said Washington was ready to work more closely with Argentina after years of tension.
President Barack Obama kicks off on Wednesday the first visit of a US president to Argentina in twenty years, and although no great announcements are expected it will be a great boost to Mauricio Macri's three month administration, his bold economic reforms and effective efforts to reinsert Argentina in the world.
Argentine president Mauricio Macri will not bring up the issue of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands during his meetings with visiting president Barack Obama, much less request his mediation in the dispute, according to foreign minister Susana Malcorra.
Leading Cuban dissidents, including some who have been critical of president Barack Obama's policy of engaging with the Cuban government, spent nearly two hours on Tuesday discussing human rights with the president at the US embassy. The frank meeting ended only when Obama’s aides ushered him out to reach the Estadio Latinoamericano in time for the first pitch of the Cuban national baseball team's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Crowning a remarkable visit to Cuba, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared an end to the “last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas” and openly urged the Cuban people to pursue a more democratic future for their nation 90 miles from Miami. He also sent a strong message to his critics back in the US.