For those who think a new cold war has broken out, this week seemed to provide some evidence. The Peter the Great, a nuclear-powered cruiser, and two other Russian warships, arrived in the Caribbean to exercise with the Venezuelan navy. Onshore, Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, met Venezuela's Hugo Chavez as part of a Latin American tour. In Peru, he attended the apec summit, a get-together of leaders from 21 Asian and Pacific countries. Like Mr Medvedev, China's Hu Jintao (pictured above with Peru's president, Alan Garcia) also used the Lima meeting as a pretext for a Latin American tour, which in his case took in Costa Rica and Cuba. Last year another visitor from far-flung parts, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, turned up in Latin America.rnTo some in the United States, this flurry of outside interest in a region that they considered their "backyard" is threatening. They see it is a sign that under President George Bush America has lost influence in the region. In fact, Latin America's international ties have long been more diverse than caricature allows, but they are becoming even more so as the world changes. For some South American countries, Europe has always been at least as important as a trade and investment partner as the United States.
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