The Fifth Summit of the Americas (VSOA) was held at Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, on April 17–19, 2009.

[12] Regional leaders had their first face-to-face meeting with United States President Barack Obama at the summit.

Chávez also used the occasion to publicly present Obama with a copy of Eduardo Galeano's 1971 book Open Veins of Latin America.

[14] The host country's Office for Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) planned to ensure that they would be prepared to deal with the consequences of natural or man-made hazards which might impact the delegates during the Summit of the Americas.

The Jamaican contingent was briefed and given all the necessary resources and equipment, and they were expected to bring back to Jamaica any good ideas and best practices which might be observed during the operation.