Hillary Clinton has started a tour of six Latin American countries. The US Secretary of State will be attending the inauguration of the new president of Uruguay, José Mujica.

Later today she will be visiting Buenos Aires, where she will meet the presidents of Argentina and Paraguay. On Tuesday she will continue to Chile, although her visit will be cut short due to the earthquake.

Later this week Ms Clinton will visit Brazil, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Important topics of discussion on her tour will be the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake and possible sanctions against Iran.

Since President Barack Obama took office, Washington has been trying to create different, more equable relations with Latin America, which used to be referred to by the United States as its 'backyard'.