When historians in the future look back at the year 2005, they will describe it as the year in which the United States lost much of its once almighty influence in Latin America, and former outsiders -- such as China -- began to play a modest but rapidly growing role in hemispheric affairs.Some researchers are likely to say the loss of U.S. clout in the region was due to the the rise of hostile regional subpowers such as oil-rich Venezuela, which won growing influence thanks to a combination of checkbook diplomacy and populist demagoguery. Others will say it was a...