President Bush brushed off anti-U.S. violence and demonstrations in Panama and arrived in this Central American nation Thursday.
"Not worried at all," Bush told reporters shortly after departing for Panama, his first trip there since he ordered the U.S. invasion of Panama 21/2 years."We'll be received very well down there," said Bush, who was making a four-hour visit while en route to Rio de Janeiro for the U.N. Earth Summit.
Since the U.S. invasion that led to the arrest and conviction of dictator Manuel Noriega on drug charges, the United States has plied Panama with $461 million in aid. But problems, poverty and anger persist.
Bush was visiting with President Guillermo Endara, elected after Operation Just Cause debilitated Noriega's notorious Dignity Battalions.
Bush touched down less than 24 hours after a U.S. soldier was killed and one other was wounded near the town of Chilibre, 15 miles north of the capital.
"Anytime an American serviceman is hurt, that's bad. Killed is worse," Bush said Wednesday.
The president and Endara were to discuss efforts to improve drug interdiction, which has been hampered by a young civilian defense and police force and overcrowded prisons. Endara also is expected to ask Bush to free some $27 million he froze in assets that Panamanians hold in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which is under investigation for money laundering.
While most Americans do not appear concerned with the aftermath of the Panama invasion, Bush was using the stop to showcase his foreign policy image and renew his quest to stop the drug lords.
"It's important to the American people and this president to fight drug trafficking," a senior administration official said. He noted that cocaine seizures are up dramatically over the past year and investigations into money laundering have intensified.
Administration officials also say the stop enables Bush to give a prominent boost to his trade initiatives and link sound foreign policy with economic promise.
"Contrary to conventional wisdom, what happens in foreign policy directly affects our domestic interests," said the official, who noted that Latin America is the fastest growing recipient of U.S. export goods.