Posted by
Sue on Saturday, April 18, 2009 1:16:00 AM
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago - President Obama made the first move to greet Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, but it was the acerbic and anti-American leader who beat Obama to the punch on the World Wide Web.
In a clear indication Chavez sought to leverage his brief encounter with Obama at the opening ceremonies of the fifth Summit of the Americas here, Chavez's government Web site almost immediately posted a photo of the two leaders and a government-approved commentary in Spanish that read as follows:
"Before the Inaugural session of the 5th Summit of the Americas, the President of the United States approached President Chavez to greet him. They both drew their hands in a historic handshake after many years of tension under the Bush administration, when relations between Washington and Caracas had deteriorated. President Chavez expressed to Obama his desire for changes in the relations between the two countries. Eight years ago I greeted President Bush with this same hand. I'd like to be your friend."
It took the White House almost three hours to confirm the handshake. As of 9:20 p.m. EST there was no indication the White House intended to release any photos. A senior administration official declined to describe the leaders' glancing conversation, but did not dispute the Venezuelan government's account.
Late Friday, Obama told reporters he said to Chavez: "Como Esta?" (How are you?)
The two men met in the Jade Room of the Hyatt hotel in downtown Port-of-Spain. It was there Obama also shook hands with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
In January, Chavez said Obama had the same "stench" as former President Bush after Obama criticized Chavez for backing the FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces of Columbia) guerillas in neighboring Columbia. Earlier this month during a trip to Iran, Chavez said he doubted relations would improve with the U.S. because Obama was still "president of an empire."
"I hope President Obama is the last president of the Yankee Empire, and the first president of a truly democratic republic, the United States," Chavez said, after declaring a visit to Tehran "is like arriving at one's own home."
And Chavez has threatened to veto a declaration on economic, security and environmental policies negotiated by the 34 nations attending the summit. The declaration is merely a statement of principles and has no enforcement mechanisms so the Venezuelan veto is essentially meaningless. Still, it caught U.S. officials by surprise since Chavez's government had been party to months of talks leading up to the declaration's drafting.
Ortega, a frequent echo chamber for Chavez's pronouncements, announced here late Friday that Nicaragua would also veto the declaration.