Norm "the Weasel" Coleman heading to South America

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5313525.html

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., will travel to South America next week to discuss trade issues and efforts to weaken drug trafficking.

Coleman, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, will visit Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia on the six-day trip, and meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

"We need to be aware of what is going on in our back yard," Coleman said. "I want to see where U.S. relations and economic interactions in these countries are positive, but also where there could be room for improvement."

Coleman is scheduled to speak at an intellectual property-rights conference in Brazil. He said the country has struggled to control piracy of music and movies, costing U.S. companies about $785 million in lost revenue. In Colombia, Coleman will discuss drug trafficking with Uribe.