This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, December 1st, 2008.

I'm Caleb Brown.

President-elect Barack Obama is getting plenty of advice as he prepares to take office,

but what does he set on the campaign trail about how

he will handle Latin America?

Kito Institutes Juan Carlos Adaggo says Obama should listen to Latin American leaders

on how best to address at least one big US export,

the international drug war.

President-elect Barack Obama has a great advantage when it comes to Latin America, he's highly popular within the

population and the current leaders in the region.

So he should use that advantage for good use. He has said that he looks for a new kind of

relationship with Latin America, but basically every single US president claims to one a new relationship with the region.

However, he already called President Lula Dassilba in Brazil.

They have a lengthy discussion over the phone and everything

indicates that Brazil is going to be like the major counterpart of the US during an

Obama administration, which is understandable given Brazil size as the biggest

economy in the region and also like the most populous country in Latin America.

What has Obama said on the campaign trail that should send up red flags to leaders in

Latin America regarding the U.S. relations?

I know that a lot of leaders in the region were concerned about Obama's rhetoric against

free trade agreements. In particular Mexico they were kind of worried that Obama meant what

he said when he talked about renegotiating NAFTA or even

...