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Associated PressLA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Vilified by world leaders wary of his nuclear ambitions, Iran's president came to Bolivia on Thursday to strengthen ties with South American leftists who are embracing him as an energy and trade partner and counterweight to U.S. influence.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in the Amazon region city of Santa Cruz and was scheduled to fly to the capital of La Paz to establish first-time diplomatic relations with the Andean nation.
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Ahmadinejad's trip south underscores his strengthening links to Latin American nations that also include Nicaragua and Ecuador even as the United States tries to isolate him internationally.
"It's a connection that is growing stronger all the time," said Alberto Garrido, a Venezuelan writer and political analyst. "It's Iran's answer to the United States on its own home turf. The United States is in the Middle East, so Iran is in Latin America."
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