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Content: Changes in Latin America: Grassroots movements have recently been able to decrease the US military presence in Latin America which the US military has claimed endangers their ability to perform necessary tasks in the continent. In September the US base in Manta, Ecuador was closed which was responsible for Pacific flights looking for drug shipments. Additionally, Paraguay rejected a plan to bring 500 US troops into their borders. The US military presence has also decreased or been eliminated from Panama and Puerto Rico. Beyond the decreased US military presence there has also been a decrease in support for US policy and intervention in the region. The well publicized speeches of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are only part of the story. Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil all have governments who are more progressive and left-leaning then in the past and they have been openly critical of US power in the region. This shift resulted in the election of José Insulza as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). As a former minister to Salvador Allende of Chile Insulza was seen as the anti-US candidate (despite being educated at the University of Michigan).