Obama becomes first US president to visit Laos

President Obama made history Monday, becoming the first American president to visit the Southeast Asian nation of Laos.  

{mosads}The Associated Press reported that Obama arrived late Monday in the capital, Vientiane, for a three-day visit to try to rebuild trust between the two countries.

Obama reportedly plans to acknowledge the damage a U.S. bombing campaign across the border in Vietnam caused during America’s war with that country, and will announce new aid to help clean up unexploded bombs throughout the mountain villages and fields of Laos.

The White House pool reported that small groups of people gathered on rain-slicked streets to snap pictures of the presidential motorcade as it drove through the city.

The motorcade passed Patuxay, the Victory Gate, a war monument dedicated to those who fought in the independence struggle against France.