While the world watches the events unfolding in Japan and the Middle East, President Obama heads to Latin America for a five day tour. The president and first lady Michelle Obama begin their first official trip to Brazil tomorrow, a country with a fast-rising GDP rate that some economic experts have taken to calling "The New World Player." The president and first lady will also stop in Chile and El Salvador.

With the European Union in the midst of a severe debt crisis, foreign ministers of the eurozone are meeting this week to discuss remedies for their financial troubles. Latin America went through a difficult debt crisis of their own back in the 1980s, which is often referred to as the "Lost Decade." What lessons can Europe learn from Latin America to help prevent their own lost decade?

In Chile, the death toll has risen above 700 victims three days after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake shook the country. This is one of the strongest earthquakes recorded in history, and one of the deadliest earthquakes in Chile since the Valdivia quake of 1960.

The leaders of several Latin American nations converged on Havana for a two day summit of the Bolivian Alliance for the Peoples of America (in Spanish, 'ALBA'). BBC's Cuba correspondent Michael Voss joins us with a report on how this Latin American union is dealing with a global economic crisis.

International intrigue and Latin America have long been partners in crime. So when Bolivian security forces killed an Irish man, a Romanian, and a Hungarian in a hotel room in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in a half-hour shoot out, it sounded like it was ripped from the pages of a high-flung spy novel. Now, Bolivian President Evo Morales said that this alleged assassination attempt by foreign mercenaries could have been backed by the U.S. Government reports say that the group was linked to rightist opposition groups against Morales’ leftist regime, but they have not released the details of their report to the Irish or Hungarian governments who have been seeking answers.

Naomi Daremblum who teaches about Latin American issues at New York University joins The Takeaway to talk about the alleged assassination attempt on President Morales.

President Obama is signaling a new era of diplomacy with two Latin American nations long considered troublesome for American interests, namely Venezuela and Cuba. President Obama has called for open dialogue with Cuba and has said that "The policy that we've had in place for 50 years hasn't worked the way we want it to. The Cuban people are not free." Then Mr. Obama engaged with Mr. Chavez in a seemingly friendly way, despite criticizing Chavez's policies and anti-U.S. rhetoric. While some critics have accused Mr. Obama of coddling Venezuela, he dismissed such accusations.

But what are the pros and cons of engagement with these two countries, which were the focus of a very different kind of diplomacy under President Bush? To help answer these questions, we turn to former Ambassador Otto Reich, who was the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela for President Reagan and a former senior Special Envoy and diplomat under Reagan and both G.W. and G.H.W. Bush administrations.

President Obama landed in Mexico City yesterday, pledging his support to help President Calderon and the Mexican government in its fight against the drug cartels that have ravaged the country. The outburst of crime, turf wars and shootouts killed over 6,000 people last year. Though drug violence tops the agenda, Presidents Obama and Calderon will also discuss energy, the economy and immigration. Later today President Obama will continue the conversation when he heads to Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas. For a look at how President Obama’s visit to our northern neighbor is defining U.S. foreign policy we are joined by Andres Martinez. He is the Director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program for the New America Foundation.

President Obama touches down in Mexico City this afternoon for talks with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon. This is his first trip to Latin America since being inaugurated. Details of the trip are sketchy due to security concerns, but Obama is sure to address ongoing violence stemming from Mexico’s war against drug cartels. The Takeaway talks to Ioan Grillo Mexico Correspondent for Time Magazine.

For more, here is the AP's report on the visit:

President Barack Obama has made clear that he views Cuban Americans as “Ambassadors of Democracy” who can bring a message to Cuba when they visit their families there. But what do Cuban-Americans think? Are they excited at this new patriotic title bestowed on them? Or glad to be able to trace their roots back to the island nation? Are they unwilling to return to Cuba while the Castros are still in power? Or are they just happy to have another beach to visit? This morning we are listening to the response from younger Cuban-Americans who were born here in the U.S. and never personally knew life under Castro or in Cuba. The Takeaway talks to Danny Mendoza, a filmmaker and student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Large numbers of El Salvadorans voted yesterday in a tense election that could put a leftist in the presidency for the first time in this nation's history. The election is seen as so crucial that thousands of Salvadorans reportedly returned from the United States to vote in their home country. Sara Llana, Latin American Bureau Chief for the Christian Science Monitor, joins The Takeaway for the latest.

Cuban President Raul Castro replaced eight cabinet ministers yesterday in a shake-up that ousted politicians linked to Fidel Castro. This move could signal a new era for Cuba. To talk about Cuba's future we are joined by James Painter, Latin American analyst for our partners, the BBC.