Obama's Latin tour still on despite nuclear disaster threat

US President Barack Obama's trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, which begins on Friday, will not be postponed despite growing threats of a nuclear disaster in Japan and turmoil in the Middle East, White House officials said on Tuesday.

"Obviously, the trip is on. The president will be going to Latin America," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The spokesman stressed that the trip to Latin America forms a key part of Obama's top political priority, which is reviving the US economy. "This trip is very focused on economic opportunities for the United States and the trade relationship."

It will be Obama's first tour of Latin America since taking office in 2009. The first leg takes him to Brazil, where the US president and his family are scheduled to visit Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. They will also go to Santiago, Chile and San Salvador, El Salvador before returning to Washington.

Officials said that the trip was designed to highlight economic and trade issues and energy and security cooperation.

"This trip fundamentally is about the US recovery, US exports, and the critical relationship that Latin America plays in our economic future and jobs here in the United States," Carney said.

Obama's trip has irked some regional leaders, such as Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who complain that Washington has overlooked their nations.