article_snippet.sent: Panama City (CNN)This was the handshake that shook the Western Hemisphere.
article_snippet.sent: Cuban President Raul Castro briefly met Cuban President Raul Castro Cuban counterpart, Cuban President Raul Castro, on Friday night at a dinner for the dozens of Latin American leaders convening in Panama City for the Summit of the Americas.
article_snippet.sent: The meeting was so important that Bernadette Meehan, National Security Council spokesperson, issued a statement: "At the Summit of the Americas the Americas this evening, U.S. President Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro Cuban President Raul Castro greeted each other and shook hands.
article_snippet.sent: But Latin American leaders have been building up to the historic face-to-face.
article_snippet.sent: Obama spoke by phone Wednesday with Panamanian before heading to Panama.
article_snippet.sent: They met Friday at the dinner and are expected to spend a lot more time together on Saturday when the Summit of the Americas begins in earnest.
article_snippet.sent: Obama arrived in Panama late Thursday for the conference, which in years past was tinged with animosity at Cuba's exclusion.
article_snippet.sent: Moments after Marine One, Obama's helicopter, touched down in Panama City, Castro's plane landed on the same tarmac.
article_snippet.sent: Panamanian television carried both arrivals live.
article_snippet.sent: Even as Obama landed in Panama the long-standing tensions between pro-
highlights_snippet.sent: U.S. President Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro meet in Panama City .
  