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U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would not be attending the Summit of the Americas in Peru, which will begin Friday, and will instead remain in Washington to see his country's response to the alleged chemical attack by the Syrian government in the city of Ghouta.
Trump had been scheduled to travel to Lima, Peru, on Friday to attend the Summit of the Americas and then travel on to Bogota, Colombia. The trip had been expected to be tense and awkward because of Trump's repeated disparagement of the region over immigration, narcotics and trade.
His travel plans changed after a Saturday night attack on the Syrian town of Douma which killed at least 60 people and injured more than 1,000 others. Trump has vowed to make a swift decision to respond to what he called "atrocities."
"At the president’s request, the vice president will travel in his stead. The president will remain in the United States to oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Last year, Washington bombed a Syrian government air base after a chemical weapons attack. It was not yet clear what decision Trump will make in response to the latest attack. Syria and Russia have denied there was a chemical weapons attack and have proposed international inspections.
This will be the second trip to the region for Vice President Mike Pence. He met with leaders in Colombia, Argentina and Panama in August.
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