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Obama En Route to Costa Rica

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto take their seats with their delegations during a meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
1/5 U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto take their seats with their delegations during a meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
President Obama held talks in Mexico City with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. He next plans to meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla ahead of the Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto walk down a staircase at the National Palace in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
2/5 U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto walk down a staircase at the National Palace in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
President Obama held talks in Mexico City with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. He next plans to meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla ahead of the Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
Demonstrators protest outside the U.S. embassy before the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
3/5 Demonstrators protest outside the U.S. embassy before the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
President Obama held talks in Mexico City with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. He next plans to meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla ahead of the Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
People hold signs calling for the U.S. government to halt deportations of immigrants during a protest ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit, outside the U.S. embassy in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
4/5 People hold signs calling for the U.S. government to halt deportations of immigrants during a protest ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit, outside the U.S. embassy in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
President Obama held talks in Mexico City with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. He next plans to meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla ahead of the Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
U.S. and Mexican flags are displayed at the National Palace where U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto were meeting, in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
5/5 U.S. and Mexican flags are displayed at the National Palace where U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto were meeting, in Mexico City, May 2, 2013.
President Obama held talks in Mexico City with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. He next plans to meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla ahead of the Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.
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U.S. President Barack Obama is en route to Costa Rica, where he plans to meet with President Laura Chinchilla. The two leaders will discuss bilateral issues ahead of Saturday's Central American Forum on Sustainable Economic Development.

During his visit to Mexico earlier Friday, Obama said a "new Mexico is emerging" with a robust civil society and political parties that compete vigorously but also transfer power peacefully.

Speaking to a group of mostly students at Mexico's National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, he noted that young people were "the dream" that would help shape Mexico's future with their spirit and their willingness to change things that no longer work.

Obama said the U.S. and Mexico were "two equal partners," adding that distortions in both countries have created misunderstandings he hopes will be corrected. He vowed to reform the U.S. immigration system, which he says does not currently reflect American values and causes some people to "live in the shadows."

On Thursday in Mexico City, the president held talks with new Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Obama said the U.S.-Mexican border is more secure now than it has been in years, but that more needs to be done.

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