History and Drama at the Seventh Summit of the Americas

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U.S. President Barack Obama traveled to Panama for the Summit of the Americas where the region’s leaders awaited his encounter with President Raúl Castro of Cuba with intense interest and anticipation.  There were also concerns over his potentially uncomfortable interaction with President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.  It was expected to be one of the most dramatic and even historic such meetings of the hemispheric heads of state, and it did not disappoint.  The move by the Obama administration to change five decades of policies toward Cuba (that are widely recognized as failures) moved to the next level, despite recent tensions created by Obama’s broadly criticized (and perhaps downright clumsy) executive action defining Venezuela as a national security risk.  Many commentators see the developments with Cuba as the beginning of a welcomed shift for the United States, which Latin Americans say has neglected the region throughout the Obama presidency, and indeed, since the 911 attacks of 2001.

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