In a show of support, the Presidents of Chile, Mexico, Canada and Peru wrote to House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress appealing for passage of the Colombia FTA, in the name of regional stability, but so far their request has been met with a deaf ear.
General Pinochet returned to Chile in March from London where he spent 16 months under house arrest while fighting a Spanish judge's efforts to extradite him for trial over human rights abuses.
Following his Alabama visit, the president will return to the White House before once again heading back to Air Force One this evening for the long flight to Chile for the Summit of the Hemisphere.