U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday paid a visit to the indigenous town of Santa Cruz de Balanya, 30 km west of Guatemala City, reports said.

Bush, first lady Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to the town in his own Marine One helicopter, accompanied by Guatemalan Air Force planes.

In Santa Cruz, a community rebuilt from scratch after Guatemala's 1976 earthquake, he witnessed a demonstration of medical services performed by U.S. military doctors, as part of humanitarian work in the country's poor rural areas.

The president, wearing a multi-colored traditional jacket, also visited Labradores Mayas, a thriving vegetable packing station in the town of Chirijuyu, not far from the capital.

In the Iximche Mayan ruins, 90 km west of Guatemala City, he watched a traditional Mayan ceremony.

Following Bush's rural visit, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger gave him a formal welcome at the Peace Patio in Guatemala City's National Palace of Culture.

The two leaders are set to discuss security, the war on drugs and Guatemalan immigrants in the United States.

During his stay in the country, Guatemalan and U.S. forces were deployed to prevent anti-Bush demonstrators from reaching him.

Demonstrators are angered by a mass deportation of Guatemalans that took place on Tuesday, when U.S. immigration agents arrested 500 undocumented workers.

Guatemala is the fourth leg of Bush's five-nation Latin America tour, which has taken him to Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. He will also visit Mexico.

Source: Xinhua