The presidents of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela ended a border dispute on Friday with a summit handshake after a week of regional diplomacy in the face of troop buildups.
"And with this ... this incident that has caused so much damage (is) resolved," leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said before standing up and shaking hands with his US-backed conservative Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe.
The dispute erupted on Saturday when Colombia raided inside Ecuador to kill a commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and its resolution brought the summit to a surprise ending after acrimonious moments, including Correa calling Uribe a liar.
The accord came after Uribe apologized to Correa at the summit under pressure from governments across the region. Uribe also said he could guarantee Colombia would not make similar raids if they cooperated in the fight against the FARC.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who had blamed the United States for the crisis as he sent tanks to the border with Colombia, joined in by shaking Uribe's hand vigorously, applauding loudly and smiling broadly.
"We are all happy - we must unite and integrate," Chavez said.
The handshakes were broadcast live on television across Latin America in response to a special request from the summit host, Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez.
The resolution was a diplomatic victory for Latin America, whose governments from Mexico to Brazil managed the crisis by emphasizing negotiations and took advantage of the previously scheduled summit to force the sides to talk.