US President Barack Obama at the Americas summit yesterday was basking in the glow of his promise to build a "new chapter" with Latin America and an offer to start talks with Cuba.
Obama was warmly welcomed wherever he went at the gathering in the Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago - including by one of the United States' fiercest critics, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Chavez, who had called Obama's predecessor George W. Bush the "devil" and a "poor idiot", went out of his way to show bonhomie.
He shook Obama's hand at the start of the summit on Friday and gave the US leader a book.
Both were pointed gestures, though: Venezuelan officials distributed photos of the handshake that were printed in newspapers across the world, while the book, an English version of Las Venas Abertas de America Latina (Open Veins of Latin America), was a leftist work about the exploitation of the region by the world's big powers.
Obama also shook the hands of Chavez allies Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Evo Morales of Bolivia.
Most of the leaders from other countries represented seemed keen to greet or be seen close to him. There was no doubting Obama's popularity outside the summit, too.
In Trinidad, a nation with a large part of the population descended from African slaves, the United States' first black president was seen as a hero.
That was in contrast with the reception given to Bush at the last Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005. Then, Bush dodged anti-US protests and left early after an altercation with Chavez.
Part of Obama's appeal came from his personal charm, which was also deployed to great advantage on a recent trip to Europe.
But much of it also derived from his unexpected offer to thaw ties between the United States and Cuba frozen for a half-century.
Obama said last Friday he wanted to establish "a new beginning" with Cuba, which was the only country in the Americas excluded from the summit. He said he would recognise past US "errors", but stressed he required reciprocal gestures from Castro.
"I am prepared to have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues - from drugs to migration and economic issues to human rights, free speech and democratic reform," Obama said.
The offer came after a surprise overture from Castro, who said he now stood ready to discuss "everything" with Washington - including specifically the hot-button issues of human rights, press freedom and political prisoners.
The conciliatory language raised the prospect of the United States considering an end to its 47-year-old embargo on Cuba. That played well with virtually all the summit's participants.
The head of the Caribbean Community, Edwin Carrington, said "we really want to see a normalisation of relations including a lifting of the embargo."
Having made his point, Obama sought a modest profile as the summit's working sessions got underway.
At yesterday's meeting with a dozen South American leaders, including Chavez and fellow US critics, he told a small knot of reporters: "I have a lot to learn.
"I'm very much looking forward to listening and figuring out how we can work together more effectively," he said.
Obama met with the Caribbean Community leaders late last Friday and is due to meet with Central American leaders today.
The summit in Trinidad wraps up just after 6 p.m. today.