Obama ending Americas tour, cuts Mayan visit

[March 23, 2011]  SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- President Barack Obama is leaving Central America earlier than scheduled, cutting short a tour dominated by the U.S.-led military action in Libya.

The president eliminated a visit to Mayan ruins from his itinerary Wednesday, permitting him to leave a few hours earlier. Aides have taken pains to portray Obama as fully engaged in the deployment of missiles and warplanes in North Africa even as he devoted his public time to bridge-building with Latin American leaders.

But he couldn't escape the juxtaposition of missions.

The three-country, five-day tour meant to re-establish U.S. leadership in the region. The president traveled to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, countries that have undergone political transformations over the past decades.

[Associated Press]

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