Story highlights U.S. President Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro meet in Panama City

The two nations -- only 90 miles apart -- have been at odds for more than 50 years

Panama City (CNN) This was the handshake that shook the Western Hemisphere.

President Obama briefly met his Cuban counterpart, 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.

This was historic. The two nations have barely been on speaking terms -- officially -- for more than 50 years.

The meeting was so important that Bernadette Meehan, National Security Council spokesperson, issued a statement: "At the Summit of the Americas this evening, President Obama and President Castro greeted each other and shook hands."

President Obama greets and shakes hands with Cuban leader Raul Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama.

Cuba and the United States had endured a half-century of enmity, the tension worsened by the two nations being only 90 miles apart. Key events of those years include some of the most traumatic in modern U.S. history, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs and the Mariel boatlift of 1980.

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