Backgrounder: Things to watch at 5th Summit of the Americas

    By Zhou Jianxin

    MEXICO CITY, April 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's ongoing visit to Mexico and his upcoming attendance at the Summit of the Americas represent an important step in U.S. efforts to open a new chapter in relations with Latin America.

    Signs of rapprochement between top officials of the two sides, a modest thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations and a fresh U.S. approach to the anti-drug campaign all show that Obama appears determined to seek a new, more collaborative U.S.-Latin American relationship.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon (L) addresses as U.S. President Barack Obama looks aside at the presidential residence in Mexico City April 16, 2009. Obama arrived in Mexico, starting a two-day official visit on Thursday. (Xinhua/Pool Contreras) Photo Gallery>>>

    EVER CLOSER CONTACT

    Obama's current tour of the region follows U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden's March trip to Chile where he met leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile on the sidelines of the Progressive Leaders Summit.

    Biden said Washington wants talks and cooperation with Latin America, and is willing to forge new ties with the region. He added that the United States was waking up to the idea that all countries must work together in tackling the on-going global financial crisis.

    Biden then visited Costa Rica and met leaders of Central American countries.

    Also in March, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Colombia and praised the country's anti-drug program as "highly effective" in improving public security in Colombia.

    Earlier this month, seven legislators from Obama's Democratic Party visited Cuba, meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro and his brother Fidel Castro.

    Raul voiced his willingness to talk to the Obama administration and seek a normalization of bilateral ties. Barbara Lee, leader the delegation, said it was time to seek dialogue with Cuba.

    Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez indicated earlier this month that he was ready to improve diplomatic relations between his country and the U.S.

    Chavez reportedly expressed the hope that Venezuela-U.S. relations would be "reset" at the Summit of the Americas to be held in the Caribbean nation Trinidad and Tobago starting Saturday.

    Chavez ordered the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador and withdrew Venezuela's envoy to Washington in September.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon (1st L) and U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) review an honor guard at the presidential residence in Mexico City April 16, 2009. Obama arrived in Mexico, starting a two-day official visit on Thursday. (Xinhua/Pool Contreras) Photo Gallery>>>

    U.S. LIFTS CUBA RESTRICTIONS

    Tackling what has been a sore point in U.S.-Cuba relations, Obama lifted restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to Cuba, a move that reversed the policy of his predecessor George W. Bush.

    According to a White House statement, "the Obama administration is taking steps to promote greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba and increase the flow of remittances and information to the Cuban people."

    In a survey published after the decision, 70 percent of U.S. citizens said they were in favor of re-establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba. Obama's move was largely viewed as a "small but important" start in dealing with Cuba.

    The policy change affects some 1.5 million Americans with family members in Cuba. Even though the U.S. has not lift the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba imposed 47 years ago, the decision represents a major departure from Washington's long-standing policy of hostility. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, U.S.-Cuba relations have been on a downward spiral under successive U.S. administrations.

    On Tuesday, Cuba's Fidel Castro, which led the nation from 1959until 2007, said the U.S. measure to lighten the restriction of trips by Cuban-Americans to Cuba is "positive," but it is "minimal."

    NEW ANTI-DRUG APPROACH

    The Obama administration is lauded for taking a more collaborative approach against drug trafficking, including acknowledging the U.S. role in fueling the trade as the world's biggest consumer and also as the main supplier of weapons to smuggling cartels.

    On Thursday in Mexico City, Obama said, "It is critical that the United States joins as a full partner... on our side of the border in dealing with the flow of guns and cash south."

    Mexico launched a fierce offensive against the nation's drug cartels within weeks of taking office in December 2006. In 2008, some 6,300 people were killed in shootouts between police and drug dealers and in infighting among drug cartels themselves. About 90 percent of the cartels' weapons are smuggled in from the U.S., according to official figures from Mexico.

    During U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Mexico in March, the U.S. and Mexican governments agreed to create a common office on Mexican territory to coordinate joint action against organized crime and drug trafficking.

    Clinton announced that the U.S. government will give Mexico more than 80 million U.S. dollars to buy "Black hawk" helicopters to be used in the fight against organized crime in Mexico.

    Clinton said her country is willing to work "shoulder by shoulder" with Mexico on such issues as border security, migration and trade.

    Local observers believe the U.S. and Latin America is beginning to forge a new relationship between them, despite their foreign policy disagreements.

    A thaw in relations with the U.S. is vital for Latin America, a region which is seeking to fend off the financial crisis and achieve early economic recovery, analysts say.

Lula: U.S. must have a new look at Latin America

    RIO DE JANEIRO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talked to U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday, asking him to have a new look at Latin America.

    In a phone conversation with Obama, Lula said there are conditions for the United States and Latin America to establish partnership, the technological development in particular. Full story

Cuban newspaper: Summit of Americas to define U.S. policy

    HAVANA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The world will know if the United States, under President Barack Obama, is willing to change its policy towards the region at the fifth Summit of the Americas, Cuban state-run newspaper Granma said Thursday.

    Obama, the first U.S. president to attend the summit, will lead a 1,000-member U.S. delegation to Trinidad and Tobago, where all the hemisphere's nations will show up except Cuba. Full story

Obama: U.S. seeks to renew "broader partnership" with other nations in western hemisphere

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barrack Obama pledges on Thursday to renew and sustain a "broader partnership" with other states in the western hemisphere.

    "Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors," Obama said in an editorial that was carried in 15 Carribean, Latin American and U.S. newspapers. Full story