An editorial in The Times praised the change as "helping solidify good relations" among all the nations of the hemisphere.
Civic and business boosters backed the change as part of a plan to promote trade with the rest of the hemisphere.
That has created problems for Colombia's president, Andres Pastrana, said Michael Shifter, a Colombia expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a forum for leaders of the hemisphere.
The Spanish became an immensely rich global empire, spreading their language and the Catholic faith throughout much of the hemisphere.
Open to highly qualified students from all of the Hemisphere on a competitive basis with full scholarships for the needy and with a first-class faculty drawn from Cuba, the United States and the rest of the Hemisphere, Guantanamo could move from being a "Black Hole" to a "Beacon of Light".
Washington should join with the rest of the hemisphere - including Venezuela - and support a negotiated solution.
In the Americas, such partners represent 68% of the GDP of the hemisphere, not counting the United States.
In doing so, Mr. Obama is moving away from policies that had isolated the United States in parts of the hemisphere.
"Those indicators were not lost on other parts of the hemisphere," said Patrick Duddy, a former United States ambassador to Venezuela.
The vast majority of the hemisphere, including Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, were vehemently opposed to the elections.
A newly formed organization, CELAC, includes all countries of the hemisphere apart from the US and Canada.
