Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

All information is at 31 March 2009 and unaudited.

Performance at month end is calculated with net income reinvested

                          One    Three       One    *Since     Three        Five     
                        Month   Months      Year  31.03.06     Years       Years    
Sterling:                                                                      
Net asset value         12.0%     4.4%    -36.5%     -4.1%     -4.1%      105.9%   
Share price              9.8%     8.9%    -37.9%     -5.0%     -5.0%      164.3%   
MSCI EM Latin American  10.4%     5.3%    -28.1%     15.6%     15.6%      177.8% 
American                                                                       
                                                                               
US Dollars:                                                                    
Net asset value         12.6%     4.1%    -54.2%    -20.7%    -20.7%       60.6%    
MSCI EM Latin American  11.0%     4.9%    -48.2%     -4.5%     -4.5%      116.7% 
                                                                               
Sources: BlackRock, Standard & Poor's Micropal                                 
                                                                               
*Date which BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company.      

At month end                                                              
                                                                          
Net asset value - capital only:                                  330.03p  
Net asset value** - cum income:                                  331.18p  
Share price:                                                     314.00p  
Total assets^:                                                  £165.69m  
Premium (share price to capital only NAV):                          4.9%  
Gearing:                                                            5.6%  
Net yield:                                                         1.55%  
Ordinary shares in issue^^:                                   47,389,753  
                                                                          
**Includes 3 months net revenue equal to 1.15p.                           
^Total assets include current year revenue.                               
^^Excluding 400,000 shares held in treasury.                              

Geographical Regional Exposure                                   % Total Assets
                                                                               
Brazil                                                                     69.5
Mexico                                                                     16.5
Peru                                                                        2.7
Chile                                                                       2.6
Argentina                                                                   1.0
Panama                                                                      0.4
Net current assets                                                          7.3
                                                                          -----
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                                  
Creditcorp                             Peru                                    
CVRD                                   Brazil                                  
Grupo Televisa                         Mexico                                  
Petrobras                              Brazil                                  
Unibanco                               Brazil                                  
Usiminas                               Brazil                                  

Commenting on the markets, Will Landers, representing the investment

Manager noted;

Performance

For the month of March 2009, the Company posted a 12.0% appreciation in its NAV
while the shares appreciated 9.8% (all in sterling terms). This compares with
the 10.4% appreciation posted by the Company's benchmark, the MSCI EM Latin
America Index.

The outperformance during the month stemmed from a combination of positive
country allocation from being overweight Brazil and underweight Colombia and
positive stock selection in Brazil, partially offset by negative stock
selection in Mexico. Largest contributors to performance in the month were the
overweight position in large cap Brazilian banks and Brazilian homebuilders,
while underweight positions in Mexican consumer discretionary and Brazilian
industrials were small detractors to performance.

Transactions/Gearing

During the month, the largest transaction activity related to raising cash to
meet the 7.5% tender offer completed at the end of the month. Net gearing was
reduced to approximately 3% during the month due to the strong rebound in
markets, especially Brazil and stood at 5.6% at the end of the month. We
realized gains in Brazilian financials and Chilean copper, also reducing
Mexican retailers.

Positioning

As we enter the second quarter of 2009, the portfolio is positioned to continue
to benefit from a recovery in risk appetite. Latin America's fundamentals, both
macro as well as market/micro, continue to rank among the most attractive in
the world in our opinion, and we continue to expect to see the region ranking
among the best in the world in periods of market recovery. Brazil represents
today our largest overweight, with domestic sectors representing the major bulk
of the overweight. The Brazilian Central Bank continues with its easing cycle,
and we expect to see single-digit nominal interest rates at some point this
year - we believe this will be important for Brazilian domestic consumption,
and eventually drive demand for equities from local institutional investors.
Mexico's attractiveness remains challenged by its dependency on the US economy,
where we expect improved fundamentals but not an immediate return to fast
growth. Other markets in the region have some representation in the portfolio,
but suffer from a combination of higher valuations and/or low liquidity.

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).

24 April 2009