Raúl Castro, president of Cuba, right, seen in 2008 with Hugo Chávez, could be a cautious but willing partner for Barack Obama in establishing improved international relations. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images
Hugo Chávez's departure furnishes
Barack Obama with an opportunity to repair US ties with
Venezuela, but also with other Latin American states whose relations with Washington were adversely affected by Chávez's politics of polarisation and the Bush administration's viscerally unintelligent reaction.
In particular, the change of leadership in Caracas could unlock the deadlock over
Cuba, if the White House can summon the requisite political will.
Possibly anticipating a transition, Washington quietly engineered a diplomatic opening with Caracas last November after a lengthy standoff during which ambassadors were withdrawn.
The Guardian 
