Vice President Mike Pence is returning from his Latin American trip to Washington on Thursday, a day earlier than planned.
“We prepare to end our trip a little bit early tomorrow in Panama,” Pence told reporters Wednesday in Santiago, Chile. “I will return home tomorrow.” Pence’s press secretary, Marc Lotter, tells me the vice president “will be joining the president on Friday at Camp David for national security meeting on South Asia.”
The White House first announced the Camp David meeting Wednesday morning. Lotter did not respond to my question as to whether President Trump requested that Pence return early.
Earlier this week Pence traveled to Colombia and Argentina before arriving in Chile. He had been scheduled to leave his final stop on the trip, Panama, on Friday.
Speaking to the press at the Chilean presidential palace, Pence said he was “greatly encouraged” by what he has seen in his travels across the region.
“I leave here greatly encouraged that across South America and Central America and with the United States and Canada that this is a new era here in the New World,” he said. “Chile is a shining example of a nation that first chose economic freedom decades ago and now is experiencing vibrant democracy. I return from this trip more encouraged than ever that not only will our commerce grow, strengthening jobs and opportunities in America, strengthening prosperity across Latin America.”
Pence also took note of the unrest and crisis in Venezuela, where the Trump administration has recently sanctioned several government officials, including President Nicolas Maduro. “I truly do believe that the unity that I have experienced in our determination to ensure that we will not permit a failed state in Venezuela in this hemisphere,” Pence said.
