fta
In an opening speech to the 34-nation gathering on Friday, Mr. Obama promised a new agenda for the Americas, as well as a new style.

“We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms,” Mr. Obama said to loud applause. “But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations.”

Mr. Obama also extended a hand to a leader Ronald Reagan spent years trying to drive from power: Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. The Sandinista president stepped up and introduced himself, U.S. officials reported.

Yet soon after, Mr. Ortega, who was ousted in 1990 elections that ended Nicaragua's civil war but w[b]...

fta
In an opening speech to the 34-nation gathering on Friday, Mr. Obama promised a new agenda for the Americas, as well as a new style.

“We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms,” Mr. Obama said to loud applause. “But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations.”

Mr. Obama also extended a hand to a leader Ronald Reagan spent years trying to drive from power: Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. The Sandinista president stepped up and introduced himself, U.S. officials reported.

Yet soon after, Mr. Ortega, who was ousted in 1990 elections that ended Nicaragua's civil war but who was returned to power by voters in 2006, delivered a blistering 50-minute speech that denounced capitalism and US imperialism as the root of much hemispheric mischief. The address even recalled the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, though Ortega said the new US president could not be held to account for that.

“I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old,” Mr. Obama said, to laughter and applause from the other leaders.

Chavez was more forthcoming with reporters.

"We shook each other's hands like gentlemen, and it was predictable this would happen," Chavez said. We don't have any complexes that would prevent us from extending our hands to each other. I'm grateful for his gesture."

Photos released by the Venezuelan government show the two smiling and Obama touching Chavez on the shoulder. Other photos show them with clenched hands in the room next to the main summit ballroom while the heads of state and government were waiting in line to enter the opening ceremony.

The Venezuelan presidency also said Obama initiated the handshake and quoted Chavez as telling Obama he hopes for better relations...

Chavez was more forthcoming with reporters.

"We shook each other's hands like gentlemen, and it was predictable this would happen," Chavez said. We don't have any complexes that would prevent us from extending our hands to each other. I'm grateful for his gesture."

Photos released by the Venezuelan government show the two smiling and Obama touching Chavez on the shoulder. Other photos show them with clenched hands in the room next to the main summit ballroom while the heads of state and government were waiting in line to enter the opening ceremony.

The Venezuelan presidency also said Obama initiated the handshake and quoted Chavez as telling Obama he hopes for better relations between their nations. Chavez told reporters he had a simple message in English for Obama: "I want to be your friend."

Obama's comments were limited to saying that he wanted to introduce himself to Chavez, the US official said. The Obama official would not comment on what Chavez told the U.S. president. But when a reporter asked if the Venezuelan account of what happened was accurate, the Obama official said: "I wouldn't dispute that."
Obama, Chavez shake hands at Americas Summit