WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican White House pick John McCain heads to Colombia Tuesday, on a trip also including Mexico, designed to draw sharp contrasts over trade and foreign policy with Democratic foe Barack Obama.
The Arizona senator's itinerary was also sketched with an eye on domestic politics, and the tussle for the critical bloc of Hispanic voters in the United States, especially in key western battleground states.
McCain is due to meet Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday in Cartagena, before holding a press conference, and will then head to Mexico City for talks on Thursday with President Felipe Calderon.
"There are significant differences between myself and Senator Obama, and I look forward to discussing those," McCain told reporters on Monday.
McCain's trip is the latest in a flurry of foreign forays by the two rivals, designed to burnish leadership credentials on the world stage, and to prepare the terrain for foreign policy battles ahead of November's general election.
Arizona Senator McCain traveled to the Middle East and Europe after clinching the Republican nomination earlier this year, and has just returned from Canada.
Obama is expected to travel to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Britain, France, Germany, Israel and Jordan in the coming weeks.
On Monday, McCain savaged Obama over his opposition to the US-Colombia free trade agreement, and accused him of not being willing to recognize the magnitude of the Uribe government's duel with FARC rebels.
"He doesn't support the Colombian free trade agreement. I think it would have very serious consequences if we rebuked our closest ally," McCain said.
"FARC is a long way from defeated, but the progress that has been made is remarkable. Senator Obama doesn't want to reward them, Senator Obama believes that Plan Colombia is wrong."
The US-Colombia free trade deal is being blocked by Democrats in the House of Representatives, and Obama came out against the pact during his primary campaign, citing Colombian government violence against trade unions.
Plan Colombia is a US scheme which sends hundreds of millions of dollars to the country to battle drugs smuggling and cultivation.
Obama has pledged to update President George W. Bush's Andean Counter-drug program, which includes Colombia, if elected, and said in May he would "fully support Colombia's fight against the FARC."
He also warned however that there must be strong US support for labor rights, human rights and Democratic institutions in Colombia.
McCain hammered Obama on trade when he was in Canada, accusing him of planning to erect protectionist walls with his vow to make changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Obama has pledged to renegotiate aspects of NAFTA, which also includes Mexico, and has criticised its environmental and labor standards. Critics say the huge deal has also hurt the US manufacturing base in key midwestern states which are also electoral battlegrounds.
McCain's stance on illegal immigration, a fiercely contested issue in the United States, will come under the spotlight in Mexico.
Last year, his support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill in Congress was a contributing factor to a slump which almost doomed his campaign, and alienated him from many Republican conservatives.
Since then, the Arizona Senator has stressed the need to strengthen border enforcement before tackling the problem of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, but must be careful not to anger Latino voters, who could play a key role in November's presidential election.
McCain has also said he will press the Mexican government to make their country's economy more competitive.
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