Portfolio Update

MERRILL LYNCH LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

All information is at 31 March 2008 and unaudited.

Performance at month end is calculated with net income reinvested

                      One     Three     *Since    One       Three     Five     
                                                                               
                      Month   Months    31.03.06  Year      Years     Years    
                                                                               
Sterling:                                                                      
                                                                               
Net asset value       -5.3%   -4.1%     51.0%     28.4%     139.4%    459.9%   
                                                                               
Share price           -9.5%   -4.0%     53.1%     28.3%     195.2%    629.8%   
                                                                               
MSCI EM Latin         -3.3%   -1.2%     60.8%     38.2%     198.1%    517.2% 
American                                                                       
                                                                               
US Dollars:                                                                    
                                                                               
Net asset value       -5.4%   -4.2%     73.1%     30.1%     151.8%    604.1%   
                                                                               
MSCI EM Latin         -3.4%   -1.4%     84.3%     40.1%     213.5%    676.0% 
American                                                                       
                                                                               
Sources: BlackRock, Standard & Poor's, Datastream, MSCI                        
                                                                               
*Date which BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company.      

At month end                                            
                                                        
Net asset value - capital only:                 533.36p 
                                                        
Net asset value* - cum income:                  534.54p 
                                                        
Share price:                                    519.00p 
                                                        
Total assets:                                   £254.9m 
                                                        
Discount: (share price to capital                  2.7% 
only NAV):                                              
                                                        
Gearing:                                            Nil 
                                                        
Net yield:                                         0.9% 
                                                        
Ordinary shares in issue:                    47,789,753 
                                                        
*Includes 3 months net revenue equal to 1.18p           

Geographical Regional Exposure                                   % Total Assets
                                                                               
Brazil                                                                     69.6
                                                                               
Mexico                                                                     21.0
                                                                               
Argentina                                                                   4.2
                                                                               
Chile                                                                       4.0
                                                                               
Colombia                                                                    0.8
                                                                               
Panama                                                                      0.4
                                                                               
                                                                          -----
                                                                               
Total                                                                     100.0
                                                                          -----

Ten Largest Equity Investments (in alphabetical order)                         
                                                                               
Company                                       Country of Risk                  
                                                                               
AmBev                                         Brazil                           
                                                                               
America Movil                                 Mexico                           
                                                                               
Banco Bradesco                                Brazil                           
                                                                               
Banco Itau                                    Brazil                           
                                                                               
CVRD                                          Brazil                           
                                                                               
Grupo Financiero Banorte                      Mexico                           
                                                                               
Petrobras                                     Brazil                           
                                                                               
Tenaris                                       Argentina                        
                                                                               
Unibanco                                      Brazil                           
                                                                               
Usiminas                                      Brazil                           

Commenting on the markets, Will Landers, representing the investment

Manager noted;

Performance

For the month of March 2008, the Company posted a 5.4% decline in its NAV while
the shares declined 9.6% (all in US dollar terms). This compares with the 3.4%
decline posted by the Company's benchmark, the MSCI EM Latin America Index.

The underperformance during the month stemmed mainly from negative stock
selection in Brazil, where the Company's overweight positions in financial
stocks as well as smallcaps (healthcare, insurance and real estate) detracted
from performance. On the positive side, overweight positions in Tenaris in
Argentina and America Movil in Mexico, as well as our underweight position in
Petrobras were positive contributors to performance.

Transactions/Gearing

During the month, we did not make any significant changes at the country level.
Intra-country, in Brazil we increased our positions in Petrobras and CVRD as
well as the financial sector during periods of weakness, taking profits in real
estate and airlines. We also took some profits in Chilean consumer stocks,
shifting such funds to Brazil. Gearing remained at nil during the month.

Positioning

The Company continues to be positioned with a large overweight position in
Brazil, stemming from overweight positions in materials and the maximum weight
in energy, as well as being overweight in domestic-oriented names such as
banks, real estate, industrials (and even steel companies would fall under this
category). We expect that the current commodity cycle will continue for a
while, and maintain a positive view on Petrobras (mostly because of its
potential new findings offshore) as well as CVRD and the potential for further
significant iron ore price increases in 2009. The domestic market is taking the
lead in terms of GDP growth as millions of Brazilians have joined the
economically active middle class over the past four to five years. Our more
cautious view on Mexico stems from our concerns that the economic slow down in
the US will eventually have adverse effects on the Mexican economy (so far not
very evident), while valuation levels lead to our continued underweight
positions in Chile and the Andean region.

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the
internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal).

25 April 2008