Port Of Spain - Latin American leaders are hailing as a success an Americas summit closing on Sunday that consecrated President Barack Obama as a positive partner in the hemisphere who won over even die-hard anti-US critics.
A formal closing ceremony on Sunday was due to set the seal on the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago that served to introduce Obama to a region where America-bashing has long been accepted as a nationalist reflex.

In contrast to the previous 2005 summit in Argentina that ended in discord, the Port of Spain meeting was humming with good feelings projected by the young new US president, who promised a co-operative partnership of equals with his peers.

"We made a lot of progress. With the expectations for tensions that had originally existed, I think the fact that the summit was cordial must be qualified as a success," Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez told reporters.


- Reuters