Americas

Three House Republicans are criticizing an educational trip to Cuba that they say led to a meeting with a fugitive from U.S. justice last year, and have called on President Obama to ensure that future visits do not allow these sorts of meetings to take place.

Travel to Cuba is allowed for several specific reasons, including educational activities, although they require a license from the State Department. But House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) said a 2011 trip went to far, and cited reports in The Daily Iowan that said a University of Iowa student was allowed to meet with someone wanted for a crime in the United States.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called for democracies on Tuesday to demand a free and fair election in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s presidential election will take place this Sunday, between a young opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, and socialist President Hugo Chávez.

Senators of both parties wrote to Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday to plead for the release of American Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds. Read more...

The Obama administration says it is making strides in increasing the number of foreign visitors to the United States by reducing wait times in high-demand countries, leading to growth in travel and tourism-related jobs.

Visitor spending was up 3 percent in July over last year with at least four countries crossing the 1 million visa threshold this year, bolstered in part by the State Department's efforts to lower wait times while maintaining security standards, according to a progress report released Wednesday by the White House. 

The sector is expected to create more than 1 million jobs over the next decade. 

“Every year, tens of millions of tourists come from all over the world to visit America. That’s good for business, it’s good for the economy and it’s good for our country,” President Obama said.  

“I’m glad we’re making progress and I’ll continue to do whatever I can to strengthen the travel and tourism industry."

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder and other U.S. officials are scheduled to meet with top officials from President Felipe Calderon's Cabinet today as the United States shifts its focus from military aid to combat drug dealers to beefing up Mexico's judicial system. [The Wall Street Journal]

Aid on hold: The anti-American protests that have rocked the Middle East have stalled plans for a $1 billion debt relief plan to Egypt, The Washington Post reports. Egypt owes the United States about $3 billion.

Visit by a lady: Clinton delivers introductory remarks at an event honoring Burmese human rights leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the U.S. Institute of Peace today. The 12:30 event, which will be streamed live here, is the first of several appearances by the Burmese lawmaker, who is in Washington this week to accept the congressional Gold Medal.

Sen. John Kerry fired up delegates with a rapid-fire speech praising Obama as commander in chief.

President Obama expressed support Tuesday for the Colombian government's efforts to end a decades-long conflict with nation's main leftist rebel group. 

Colombian President Santos announced that peace talks, which will start next month in Norway and move to Havana, between his government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to end the violence that has left tens of thousands dead over nearly 50 years.

The agreement to conduct peace talks for the first in a decade will last "months, not years," Santos said in a nationally televised address Tuesday. 

“There comes a moment in history when you have to take risks to arrive at a solution,” Santos said. “This is one of those moments.”

The “Santos administration has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to seeking a durable peace and ensuring a better life for all Colombians through its security and social inclusion policies," Obama said in a statement. 

"The FARC should now take this opportunity to end its decades of terrorism and narcotics trafficking, and allow the Colombian people to continue building a democratic, prosperous, and just society," he said.

The Venezuelan government has agreed to let U.S. consular officials visit with a detained American whom President Hugo Chavez said entered the country illegally, the State Department said Wednesday.

The State Department is “actively working with the government of Venezuela on a consular visit” with the American, said spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. She said the Venezuelan government had agreed to the visit and now it is a matter of working out the particulars.

Senior Republicans said Sunday they had no concerns about their new ticket’s foreign policy chops.

The Pentagon said Obama's safety wasn't jeopardized during the April trip and there was no risk to national security.