The White House has announced that President Donald Trump will not travel to Latin America this week. He was supposed to attend the Summit of the Americas in Peru. Trump will be the first US president NOT to attend the summit since it began in 1994. CGTN's Dan Collyns reports from Lima.

It would have been Donald Trump's first visit to Latin America as U.S. president. But the White House announced he would not travel to the Summit of the Americas in Peru or make a follow-up trip to Colombia as previously planned.

In a statement, it said he instead would remain in the US to oversee the American response to a suspected chemical attack in Syria, while Vice President Mike Pence will step in to meet with leaders from across the Americas in his place.

Some Peruvians expressed disappointment, but not surprise.

JAVIER REYES PERUVIAN "As the president of the United States, he should be present at this summit."

GABRIEL VIZCARRA PERUVIAN "The US thinks it's the most important country in the world and doesn't need to be with underdeveloped countries which are the majority here."

DAN COLLYNS LIMA "The eighth Summit of the Americas is seen as a key meeting point for the countries in the western hemisphere. The theme for this event - "Governability, democracy and the fight against corruption."

The talking point couldn't be more appropriate in the region at this moment, with former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva jailed for corruption on the weekend. And last month, the host country Peru appointed a new president after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski abruptly resigned over graft allegations.

Trump's absence speaks volumes, says leading Peruvian lawyer Jos Ugaz: JOSE UGAZ, FORMER PRESIDENT TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL"It will have some impact on the people and the governments that were expecting to hear the word of Trump on the anti-corruption agenda, on the other hand it is not surprising that a president like Trump is not in a summit in which corruption is the issue because since the beginning he has showed no interest in the issue."

It's also a missed opportunity for Trump to push the US trade agenda with its neighbors to the south. China has surpassed the US as the top trading partner of several countries and continues to make massive investments in region. At a time when the US can't afford to take its influence for granted, Trump's absence will not go unnoticed. Dan Collyns, CGTN, Lima.