PANAMA CITY — As usual when Latin America’s leftist leaders get together with US officials, there were plenty of swipes at Washington during the seventh Summit of the Americas.
From 19th-century territorial raids on Mexico to US support for the overthrow of Chile’s socialist government in 1973 and the 1989 invasion of Panama that removed General Manuel Noriega, Washington’s interventions in Latin America were targets of rebuke during long speeches by President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and his allies.
That prompted President Obama to retort, ‘‘I always enjoy the history lessons that I receive when I’m here.’’
But the historic meeting between Obama and President Raul Castro of Cuba on Saturday before the summit closed provides the United States and Latin America with an opportunity to move beyond a history of grievances and mistrust and set a course of closer cooperation.
There were concerns in the run-up that US sanctions on Venezuelan officials could undermine the good will generated by Obama’s decision to restore ties with Cuba, but they proved to be unfounded.
After condemning US aggression in his speech, Castro professed admiration for Obama, calling him an ‘‘honest man’’ who had not forgotten his humble roots. He noted that Obama was not even born when the United States imposed sanctions in Cuba.
The two leaders later sat down for the first meeting between Cuban and American heads of state since before the 1959 revolution that deposed Cuban strongman Fulgencio Batista.
Even Maduro eased up, declining to follow through on a threat to deliver a petition signed by 10 million Venezuelans calling on Obama to repeal sanctions. Instead, he spoke with Obama in a private exchange that Maduro said could open a way to meaningful dialogue between the two nations.
The White House said Obama reiterated his concern about the state of democracy in deeply divided Venezuela, but in his public speech Obama refrained from language declaring the situation in Venezuela a national security threat — the justification to freeze the assets of seven officials accused of human rights abuses tied to last year’s antigovernment protests.
President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico made no mention of the Venezuela sanctions in remarks Saturday. President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil did but apparently for the consumption of her leftist base at home.
Regional leaders are awaiting follow-through on Obama’s vow to consider removing Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and dismantling of the trade embargo.
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