U.S. firm against Cuba at summit

President Barack Obama got the expected lectures Saturday from Western Hemisphere leaders over his insistence on vetoing Cuban participation in future summits and his intransigence on abandoning a drug war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and undermined governments.

The opening salvo came from the summit's host, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who reiterated the message nearly all his colleagues harped on: Drop attempts to isolate Cuba.

"There is no justification for that path that has us anchored in a Cold War overcome now for several decades," Santos said, suggesting a change might encourage reforms on the communist-led island.

Speaking to a CEO summit earlier, he also urged a reconsideration of the war on narcotics, citing the irony of Colombia's successes: While it extradites hundreds of alleged drug traffickers for trial to the United States, criminals turn to other countries where law enforcement is weaker.

"The moment has come to analyze if what we're doing is best or if we can find a more effective and cheaper alternative for society," he said.

Taking time out from the summit Saturday, Obama spoke to Univision and said he would tackle immigration policy in the first year of a second term.

"This is something I care deeply about," he told Univision, a network widely watched by Latinos in the United States. "It's personal to me."

Obama said in the television interview that he would work on immigration this year, but said he couldn't get support from Republicans in Congress.