MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Thousands of protesters converged on the site of the Summit of Americas Friday to denounce the presence of President George Bush and U.S. policy in the region.
In addition to Bush, 33 Western Hemisphere leaders are on hand for the two-day meetings to discuss economic development and poverty reduction.
Outside the talks at the seaside Argentine resort city of Mar del Plata, demonstrators shouted anti-U.S. slogans and condemned the proposed creation of a free-trade bloc that would include every nation in the hemisphere except for Cuba.
No Cuban representative was at the talks.
Police estimated that some 15,000 protesters were in Argentina for the summit. There were few reports of violence on Friday.
