Latin American leaders have told Venezuela's Hugo Chavez not to confront Barack Obama at a major summit marking the US President's first encounter with the region.There is concern the volatile leader is planning to grab the headlines at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad, which starts on Friday, with a grandstanding attack on the US embargo on Cuba, or a personal insult towards Mr Obama at what will be their first meeting.
The self-styled champion of anti-Americanism has made some conciliatory noises towards the new White House occupant, but alarm bells started ringing when Mr Chavez recently called Mr Obama an "ignoramus" for accusing Venezuela of supporting Farc, the Columbian rebel group listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union.
According to diplomatic sources in Washington, Brazil and even Cuba – Venezuela's closest regional ally – have sent messages to Caracas that Mr Chavez should avoid the sort of disruptive behaviour shown at previous international gatherings.
In 2006, Mr Chavez called Mr Bush a "devil" before the United Nations general assembly, while in late 2007 an outburst against Spanish politicians prompted King Juan Carlos to tell Mr Chavez to "shut up". After eight years of fractious relations with George W Bush, most regional powers are keen to re-establish solid friendship with Washington.
A diplomatic source said: "Obama is the centrepiece of the event, and governments want to hear what he has to say. It won't do go down well if Chavez disrupts the meeting.
"He has been asked by the Cubans to tone it down. They would prefer a serious discussion on Cuba. If things get out of hand the summit will just be remembered for invective and argument."
Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, said that "Chavez is off balance because he has lost his great bête noire in Bush".
"He is upsetting people in the region", he added, by supporting Colombian Farc rebels.
Regional leaders were relieved that Mr Chavez held his own mini summit earlier this week, when he received Left-wing leaders from Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) in Caracas. At the previous Summit of the Americas in 2005, the Venezuelan staged an alternative, antitrade meeting simultaneously to the main event.
The Trinidadians are also said to be wary of giving Mr Chavez too big a profile at the three-day meeting of 34 states in Port of Spain. He is not among the five speakers at the inaugural session tonight, which will be opened by Mr Obama.
Mr Chavez is taking a delegation of 200 to Trinidad, among the largest after the 1,000-strong US contingent. Thousands of guests are being housed on two cruise liners because of a shortage of hotel beds.
Though he will be well received, Mr Obama will not be given an easy ride. The economic crisis will top the official agenda, with Latin powerhouses such as Brazil and Argentina hoping for clear signs about how Washington will help the region.
The drug trade and "public security" will also feature. Mr Obama spent Thursday in Mexico City in a gesture of solidarity with President Felipe Calderon's dramatic military operation against drug cartels.
Latin leaders will also tell the US president that he needs to do more to build bridges with Cuba, despite his announcement of relaxed restrictions on travel and remittances for Cuban Americans earlier this week.
Mr Chavez, who has championed himself as the regional heir to ailing Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, is sure to press the American to drop the 47-year embargo that has contributed to the Caribbean island's long impoverishment. He will also demand that Cuba, the only country excluded from the summit because it is not a democracy, is admitted to the Organisation of the Americas.
Administration officials said Mr Obama would not have a face-to-face meeting with Mr Chavez but would have ample opportunity to meet him informally at banquets and plenary sessions. Though the US president will greet Mr Chavez cordially, he is not expected to extend the olive-branch that was so well used on his recent visit to Europe and Turkey.
"The President is going to Trinidad with the desire and the interest to talk to all of his colleagues," said Jeffrey Davidow, a former US ambassador to Mexico who has advised the White House on the summit.
He added that persuading Venezuela and Bolivia to accept US ambassadors again after expelling them last year was not "a principal point for the president". "We need to have more communication," he said.
The Obama administration has prepared the ground carefully for the summit, courting centre-Left countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile while politely ignoring those under Mr Chavez's socialist umbrella.
David Rothkopf, a former Clinton official, said the White House could exploit the fact that Mr Chavez is not universally liked by his counterparts.
"There is a lot of tension between the Cubans and Chavez because Chavez has arrogated to himself the lead role in dissent and anti-Americanism in the hemisphere," he said.
Steve Clemons, director of strategy at the New America Foundation think tank, said: "The Cubans want the door open and are trying to demonstrate openness to the new administration
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