WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will hold bilateral meetings this weekend at a regional summit in Lima with Argentina’s Mauricio Macri, Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, Chile’s Sebastian Pinera and Peru’s Martin Vizcarra, a spokeswoman for Pence said on Thursday.
Reuters news agency reports Pence, who is traveling to the Summit of the Americas after President Donald Trump canceled his trip, plans to urge regional partners to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the spokeswoman said.
Trump cancelled his trip to the summit earlier this week, citing a need to deal with the Syrian crisis. The Latin American leaders with whom Trump was expected to meet reportedly had been expecting a tense atmosphere due to Trump’s frequent criticisms of Mexico as well as Central and South American countries.
Pence will be in Lima on Friday and Saturday. He also plans to meet with a group of Caribbean leaders, his spokeswoman said.
Source: Reuters news agency
