John M. Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America says the failure of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s major reform proposals at the polls was a surprise, and represents a “heavy defeat.”

The fallout that has followed Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shia protest leader is likely to tamp down dissent at home while provoking regional conflicts, says expert Toby Matthiesen.

William Luers, former U.S. envoy to Venezuela and Czechoslovakia, discusses his proposed multilateral nuclear-enrichment plan, which he believes could end the current Iranian nuclear crisis.