UCL Institute of the Americas

On December 13, UCL-IA had the pleasure of hosting Cuban/British hip-hop fusion X-Planet, feat. Cuban virtuoso Alain Garcia Artola. X Planet is the collaboration of Holly Holden (London) and Alayo Style (Santiago de Cuba). This project, born in Santiago de Cuba in June 2011, draws on a multitude of musical influences from the Caribbean and beyond. Having launched their debut album in Cuba in June 2012, X Planet are now ready to share their music with the world!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently named his preferred successor just before travelling to Cuba for a new operation to treat his cancer. Prof Kevin Middlebrook from UCL-Institute of the Americas looks at the implications for Venezuela. Listen to Prof Middlebrook's interview by the Austrian Broadcast Corporation (please scroll down to the appropriate article).

As President Barack Obama begins his second term in the White House, his administration will need to evaluate its many foreign policy agendas. Dr Tony McCulloch, Senior Fellow in North American Studies at UCL-IA, investigates the various challenges ahead for the president. He is to be published in Jane's Intelligence Review.

On 30 November UCL-IA published a Policy Brief on the current peace talks between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples’ Army (FARC-EP). This brief was prepared by Andrei Gomez Suarez (Sussex) and Par Engstrom (UCL-IA). The authors convened a group of experts at the UCL Institute of the Americas on 26 October 2012 to discuss the prospects for a negotiated end to the Colombian armed conflict.