Reuters.
(Reuters) -
President Barack Obama sat patiently through diatribes, interruptions
and even the occasional eye-ball roll at the weekend Summit of the
Americas in an effort to win over Latin American leaders fed up with
U.S. policies.
He failed.
The
United States instead emerged from the summit in Colombia increasingly
isolated as nearly 30 regional heads of state refused to sign a joint
declaration in protest against the continued exclusion of communist-led Cuba from the event.
The
rare show of unity highlights the steady decline of Washington's
influence in a region that has become less dependent on U.S. trade and
investment thanks economic growth rates that are the envy of the
developed world and new opportunities with China.
It
also signals a further weakening of the already strained hemispheric
system of diplomacy, built around the Organization of American States
(OAS) which has struggled to remain relevant during a time of rapid
change for its members.
Link.
