US President Barack Obama left behind a week wracked by disaster and war late Friday, launching a five-day tour of Latin America, a region showing fresh potential after its own years of turmoil.
Obama set off for Brazil, Chile and El Salvador fresh from delivering a firm threat of military action to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and presiding over the US response to Japan's tsunami-quake disaster and nuclear emergency.
Aides were adamant that Obama's trip, designed as a bid to highlight Latin America's growing global economic and diplomatic clout and a trawl for job-creating export markets, would go on despite the multiple world crises.
"Latin America is a part of the world where the economy is growing very quickly," the president said in his weekly radio address. "And as these markets grow, so does their demand for goods and services. The question is, where are those goods and services going to come from?"
The president said he wants to make sure these products were made in America.
"I want to open more markets around the world so that American companies can do more business and hire more of our people," Obama added.
The comments were made public as Obama embarked on a five-day trip to Latin America, during which he will visit Brazil, Chile and El Salvador.
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