Obama’s overture to Latin America

President Obama's desire to forge a new relationship with some of the U.S.’s harshest critics received a warm response from Latin American leaders.

What happened

President Obama offered this week to forge a new relationship with some of the U.S.’s harshest critics, concluding his first Latin American summit by calling for an end to “the old ideologies that have dominated and distorted the debate in this hemisphere.” Obama received a warm response from Latin American leaders, in stark contrast with the antagonism frequently expressed toward George W. Bush. After being photographed sharing a smile with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Obama brushed off criticism from Republican leaders that his friendliness toward leftist leaders was “irresponsible,” saying that a willingness to talk was not weakness. “It’s unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chávez that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States,” Obama said.

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