Her visit coincides with U.S. concern that Venezuela has become increasingly authoritarian while reinforcing its alliance with Cuba.

She could use the trip to highlight the administration's worries about Venezuela in a speech to an international pro-democracy conference in Chile, her third stop.

After an overnight flight, Rice was to arrive this morning in Brazil, then visit Colombia, Chile and El Salvador.

''We need a new focus in the hemisphere on how democratic governments deliver better for their people,'' Rice said recently.

Poverty in Latin America remains pervasive despite predictions during the 1980s that the return of democracy to the region heralded a new, more prosperous era.

Rice said the region must do a better job of dealing with corruption.

Rice spent part of Monday in Texas to attend a meeting between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. She planned to head for Brazil after the meeting.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has increasingly taken anti-American stances recently, announced Sunday that he was terminating a military exchange program with the United States because the U.S. officers involved were trying ''to turn our boys against us.''

Though Venezuela is a leading U.S. oil supplier, the United States has criticized Venezuela's purchase of 100,000 assault rifles from Russia, while Chavez has been an outspoken foe of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.