Immigration hot issue for Bush in Guatemala

Bush left Guatemala on Monday night for Mexico, where he plans to discuss border issues Tuesday with President Felipe Calderon on his last stop of a five-nation tour. The tour is aimed at challenging a widespread perception that the United States has neglected the region and at combatting the rising influence of Venezuelan leftist President Hugo Chavez.

Meanwhile, Chavez, who has been shadowing Bush throughout this trip, was in Jamaica and Haiti, countries he is courting with preferential oil contracts and generous aid packages.

Bush and Berger did find common ground on the battle against drug trafficking.

Guatemala wants technical assistance, such as helicopters, radar and other equipment. Bush praised Berger's commitment, and said he wants the U.S. to work with Mexico and other Central American countries on a regional partnership to halt drug trafficking and gangs.

"I am a 'If they break the law, arrest them' person," Bush said. "I think we ought to find these people and bring them to justice. And it's tough because the richer they become, the more lethal they become, and the more dangerous they are to democracies. And that's why there needs to be a collaborative effort."

Bush was treated to a welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of Guatemala's National Palace, the site of the signing of 1996 peace accords that ended a 36-year civil war in which the United States often sided with repressive governments.

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images President Bush reaches Monday to hug a woman while holding her glasses, which she was picking up during his visit to a U.S. medical readiness and training exercise in Santa Cruz Balanya, Guatemala.

About 500 people marched toward the centrally located national palace — site of the meetings and news conference — to protest Bush's visit, some carrying signs with anti-Bush messages and others burning an effigy of the president. The demonstration was mostly peaceful, but more than 5,000 police and soldiers surrounded the palace.

During his helicopter visit with Berger to hill towns, Bush showcased the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which he just barely got through a then-Republican Congress in 2005. The Democratic takeover of Congress has left the prospects for further free-trade agreements dubious. But Bush was undeterred.

"Free trade is important for a lot of people. It's important for our country, it's a gateway. It creates jobs in America just like it creates jobs here," Bush told farmers and workers at a thriving vegetable packing station in Chirijuyu.

Before returning by helicopter to Guatemala City, the Bushes also took in Mayan ruins in the village of Iximche.

Mayan priests had decided to purify the sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after Bush's visit, according to Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan non-governmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders.

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