Gates heads to Barbados

The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is due to visit Latin America and the Caribbean next week.



He is expected to sign a defence accord with Brazil and then travel to Colombia, Peru and Barbados where he\'ll attend a Caribbean security conference.



In Bridgetown, Mr Gates is scheduled to meet defence counterparts from the region to support President Obama\'s Caribbean Security Initiative to fight the drug trade.



Pentagon sources are quoted as saying that Mr Gates wants to send a clear message that the US remains very much engaged in the Caribbean and Latin America.



There have been claims that the US was neglecting nations south of its border.