Tensions between the United States and its long-term Latin American rivals Cuba and Venezuela have recently showed signs of relax- ation. U.S. President Barack Obama warmly greeted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in April. He also accepted a book from Chavez as a gift. Chavez announced plans to restore his coun- try’s ambassador to the United States after meeting with Obarna at the summit. At the end of April, he gave back a U.S. island that a Venezuelan oil company had purchased from the United States.