John Kerry has kicked off his first trip to South America as secretary of state. In Colombia on Monday, Kerry faced questions from the government about National Security Agency spying following reports based on leaks by Edward Snowden that the surveillance extends throughout Latin America. Journalist Glenn Greenwald has reported that after Brazil, Colombia appeared to be the second biggest target of the spying. Kerry defended NSA practices at a news conference in Bogota.

John Kerry: “I am confident that I was able to explain thoroughly precisely how this has received the support of all three branches of our government, it has been completely conducted under our Constitution and the law, and how we have respected the concerns of other countries and will continue to.”

Kerry visits Brazil today. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is launching a formal review of NSA tactics. The review panel is being led by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who has been accused of lying to Congress about the spying.