Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -- It was not President Barack Obama's first appearance on a world stage. He had already proven his diplomatic skills at the G-20 Summit in Great Britain. But the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago was expected to be far more challenging for him. He would be facing a tougher crowd: Thirty-three heads of state from his own hemisphere, many of whom, underhandedly, had a confrontation with the United States as part of their agenda.

The potential row with our neighbors to the south had already been anticipated. Remnants of the Cold War still keep open wounds in many countries. Most are resentful for having been virtually ignored for the past eight years by the Bush administration. All would be pressuring the United States to end the decades-old embargo against Cuba, and the U.S.'s most vocal critic, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, most likely would go out of his way to steal the spotlight.

However, from the moment the summit began, President Obama was able to vent off any possible confrontation. During his opening remarks, he set the tone for what would be a successful summit and a new beginning in the strained relations between the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean.

He avoided having Cuba become a point of contention by facing the issue head-on. And through a simple handshake with Chavez, he tamed the beast and charmed the crowds.

“I'm glad President Ortega didn't blame me for what happened when I was 3 months old,” Obama said after the Nicaraguan president spent almost an hour blasting U.S. intervention in the region. Recognizing the mistakes of the past, Obama told his colleagues that it is time to move forward and not relive the past, and warned that the United States cannot be blamed for all of the problems of the hemisphere.

In three plenary sessions, the heads of state discussed the items in the agenda that attempt to move the hemisphere forward in issues of common interest: the economy, the environment, alternative energy, public safety and drug trafficking. But it was the items not on the agenda that took the spotlight and made headlines. The handshake with Chavez, the book given to Obama by the Venezuelan president, the Obamania that prevailed even among the heads of state, who went out of their way to take pictures with the U.S. president. Colombia's Alvaro Uribe said he would frame a note given to him by Obama.

There were, however, more substantive developments off the agenda, most importantly the signals that a change is in tow in U.S.-Cuba relations. In an apparent response to the lifting of the travel and remittance restrictions for individuals with family members on the island, Cuban President Raul Castro said in Venezuela the night before the Summit of the Americas that he is now willing to talk to the United States about everything, including human rights, freedom of the press and political prisoners. President Obama responded by saying this could be the time for a new beginning in relations with Cuba. At his closing press conference, the president said he found it interesting that many of the leaders talked about how Cuban doctors have dispersed throughout the region, and their countries depend on them. “It's a reminder for us in the United States that if our only interaction with many of these countries is drug interdiction, if our only interaction is military, then we may not be developing the connections that can, over time, increase our influence.”

Cuba was the only country not present at the summit, which is reserved only for those with democratically elected governments. It was suspended from the Organization of American States back in the 1980s by a provision in the bylaws that excluded any country linked to China and the Soviet Union from being a member. Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza announced that the elimination of that provision will be discussed in the OAS's next meeting in Honduras. “It is outdated,” he claims. “China is the principal trade partner of the United States, and the Soviet Union no longer exists.” The question is if Cuba would be willing to join the OAS if given the opportunity. Both Fidel and Raul Castro have called for its dissolution.

Not surprisingly, some conservatives criticized President Obama's performance during the Summit of the Americas, including his willingness to open a dialogue with Cuba and his gesture of shaking hands with a combative Chavez. Regardless, Obama accomplished something very promising: to change the perception by many in our hemisphere that the United States is the arrogant and imposing superpower that takes its neighbors for granted.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2009 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate