LatinNews Daily - 19 May 2011

Argentina: US deputy secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, Thomas Shannon, met Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on 27 August. This is Shannon's second visit to Argentina in two months, suggesting that the US is making an effort to improve relations with Fernández. Ties with her government got off to an awkward start following allegations by US prosecutors that Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez , had provided money for her election campaign in 2007. Shannon, who also visited Buenos Aires in April, spent 50 minutes with Fernández. The meeting took place behind closed doors, but an official statement released afterwards indicated that they had discussed plans for the Argentine president to visit the US in September and again in November.