Obama Departs El Salvador Skip to main content

Obama Departs El Salvador

U.S. President Barack Obama is headed back to the United States, as he continues to deal with the crisis in Libya.

Mr. Obama cut short his visit to El Salvador by a few hours, skipping a tour of ancient Mayan ruins, to focus on coalition air strikes meant to protect Libyan civilians.

In an interview broadcast Wednesday on the Spanish language Univision network, Mr. Obama said the U.S. will start pulling back from its leading role in the international effort in Libya. He also said the U.S. will not send ground troops to Libya to end the violence.

Separately, Mr. Obama told CNN he hoped the air strikes would give the Libyan rebels a chance to organize.

The president has come under criticism for leaving the United States before the coalition air strikes began. The strikes are now in their fifth day. Members of Congress have also faulted him for not seeking their authorization before undertaking the military operation.

Tuesday, Mr. Obama met President Mauricio Funes in San Salvador. Mr. Obama promised a new partnership across Central America to increase trade, target drug trafficking and create job opportunities.
The five-day tour, which also included Brazil and Chile, was designed to re-establish U.S. leadership in the region. All three countries on the trip have undergone political transformations over the past decades.

Mr. Obama highlighted a U.S. pledge to provide $200 million to Central America so governments in the region can better police their borders and expand community anti-gang programs.

He also said comprehensive immigration reform in the United States, including addressing the millions of undocumented workers in the country, is the right thing to do. He said he will continue to push for it, but acknowledged that the politics of the issue are not easy.

The United States has more than two million immigrants from El Salvador, both legal and illegal.

Following his meeting with President Funes, Mr. Obama made a highly symbolic visit to the grave of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the revered Catholic figure who was assassinated in 1980 by a member of a right-wing death squad. Romero spoke out against repression by the U.S.-backed Salvadoran army during El Salvador's 12-year civil war.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Obama-Departs-El-Salvador-118517454.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...