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Bush in Guatemala as protests dog Latin America tour
Reuters/Jason Reed
U.S. President George W. Bush hugs a vendor selling traditional Guatemalan fabrics during his visit to the town square in Santa Cruz Balanya, Guatemala March 12, 2007.By Laurent Lozano
AFP
GUATEMALA CITY
Petroleumworld.com 03 13 07US President George W. Bush Monday visited Guatemala for talks on immigration and a visit to a sacred Mayan site as violent protests continued to dog his goodwill tour of Latin America.
As Bush toured US-backed projects, about 2,000 people, some armed with machetes, demonstrated in Guatemala City. Some of the protesters hurled flaming sticks and bottles at police.The daylong visit was the fourth stop on Bush's trip aimed at demonstrating US support for Latin America and battling the influence Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has gained in the region, where several leftist leaders opposed to US policies have been elected in recent years.
Chavez took his rival Latin American tour to nearby Nicaragua before flying on to Haiti, but Bush pointedly ignored the taunts by his Venezuelan arch-foe.
Eager to demonstrate US generosity and concern for social issues, Bush viewed a "medical readiness" exercise in which US and Guatemalan doctors provided services to residents of rural areas at a school in Santa Cruz Balanya, a half-hour helicopter ride from the capital.
Tight security surrounded Bush's visit, with armed troops patroling the streets and F-16 fighter jets flying overhead.
Bush was scheduled to sit down with President Oscar Berger for talks expected to focus on trade and immigration.
Berger was likely to press for a temporary moratorium on deportations of Guatemalans who enter the United States illegally.
More than a million Guatemalans live in the United States, many of them illegally. So far this year, about 2,500 of them were expelled.
The US president was also scheduled to visit the Iximche Mayan ruins, 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Guatemala City.
Indigenous Guatemalans staged an overnight vigil near Iximche, saying Bush's visit would sully what they consider a holy site.
In Tecpan, near the ruins, protesters set up banners that read: "Out with Bush, the murderer, invader, fascist, criminal."
Chavez spoke in similar tones of the US president, whom he accused of fomenting coups in a bid to stamp out revolutionary movements in Latin America, but insisted "the empire is weakening and nearing its twilight."
The firebrand Venezuelan leader shadowed Bush for much of his trip. When Bush was in Uruguay Friday, Chavez held a massive anti-American rally in neighboring Argentina.
When Bush flew to Colombia Sunday, the Venezuelan leader popped up in Bolivia, delivering a series of new anti-American tirades.
As Bush arrived in Guatemala on Sunday, Chavez was in Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega joined him in criticizing US policies, saying US funds that finance the Iraq war would be put to better use if they were invested in Latin America.
"If US policy does not change, we won't be able the believe the message the US president is trying to deliver to Latin America," said Ortega.
Chavez backed his own rhetoric with promises of aid, announcing a 2.5-billion-dollar project to build an oil refinery in Nicaragua.
The White House played down the jabs and the violent protests that accompanied Bush's trip.
"We're respectful of the fact that there is going to be dissent," Bush aide Dan Fisk told reporters.
"So far all the countries have been very, very appreciative of the president's visit," he added.
Earlier, Bush pledged more aid to help Colombia battle rebels and the illegal drug trade mainly bound for the United States.
In Brazil and Uruguay, he discussed efforts to reach agreement in logjammed global trade talks.
Bush was scheduled to fly on to Mexico, the last stop on his five-nation tour that concludes on Wednesday.
AFP 11 2022 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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