Knoller's Nuggets: The Obama Trip To Latin America
(AP )
President Obama embarked this morning on his 3rd foreign trip. It's a four-day swing that takes him south of the border to Mexico and then to the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago to attend 5th Summit of the Americas.
Here are some more facts and figures about the trip:
- The efforts of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's efforts to combat the drug cartels top the agenda for the Obama visit.
- It's Mr. Obama's first trip to Mexico as president, though he met with Calderon in Washington in January before taking office.
- It's the 30th time a U.S. president has visited Mexico. The first visit dates back to President William Howard Taft on October 16, 1909.
- Every American president since FDR has visited Mexico at least once. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush each made six visits.
- The Obama visit is the first one to Mexico City by a U.S. president since President Clinton in 1997. On his trips to Mexico, Mr. Bush visited San Cristobal, Los Cabos, Monterrey (twice), Cancun and Merida.
- He'll be in-country for only 20 hours and 30 minutes and then departs for Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
- It'll be the first visit ever by a U.S. president to the dual-island nation off the coast of Venezuela, although FDR made brief layover stops in Trinidad in 1936 and 1943 when it was still a British colony.
- This trip will bring to nine the number of foreign nations Mr. Obama has visited since taking office.
- It's a 6,649 mile trip: 1882 miles from Washington to Mexico City, 2592 from Mexico City to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and 2175 miles back to Washington.
Click here for past coverage of Mr. Obama's trip earlier this month to Europe, Turkey and Iraq.
(CBS)
