Latin America as a region does not always come to mind as a major player on the world energy scene. With oil prices worldwide spiraling to unprecedented levels and the war in Iraq showing little sign of abating, the region that holds that distinction -at least in the public imagination in the United States- is the Middle East. As this report indicates, however, Latin American countries and South America in particular possess some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world. And Mexico and Venezuela have been large oil producers for decades. Nonetheless, despite significant energy cooperation among countries of the region, particularly in the area of electrical energy, energy relationships among countries have become increasingly politicized and conflictive.