Last week Cartegena hosted the 2012 Summit of the Americas.  The sixth Summit of the Americas which brought together the Presidents of the 34 countries of the continent, was entitled  “Connecting the Americas: partners for prosperity”, and its objective was to “define the agenda” of the Americas for the coming years.  Not everything went as smoothly as Obama had hoped and while there was some progress like  U.S., Colombia Reach Agreement on Free-Trade Labor Accord there was much friction about the continued failure of the 40 plus year old war on drugs and  the continued US trade embargo of Cuba.  Here is a story of not thinking straight on the part of the US.  While we do nothing, the rest of the world embraces Cuba and is involved in it’s transformation and growth.  Things that make you go hmmmmm.  China is drilling for oil in Cuba.  Brazil exports vegetables and meat to Cuba and the loss to the US economy is in the billions.  So, the Summit Ends With Obama at Odds With Latin America Over Cuba and Colombia’s Santos Urges U.S. to End Cuba’s Isolation

The final blow came when President Barack Obama said the media often ignores progress made at international summits in favor of more “flashy” news.  “Oftentimes in the press the attention for summits like this ends up focusing on, where are the controversies?” the president said during a meeting with executives of U.S. and South American companies on the sidelines of the summit in Cartagena, Colombia. “Sometimes those controversies date back to before I was born.”  Well, the press did focus on some real time controversies that were an embarrassment for the President.  Hookers for all!!

The Summit has ended and while there were some progress and some hold backs, mainly on the part of the US and Canada,  the Time World article below sums it up very well.  It is worth reading.

Beyond the Secret Service Scandal: Why the Americas Summits Matter