Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Governor Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), today said that he was, “utterly and positively surprised that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace prize.” Richardson's remarks came during an event hosted by the New Democrat Network.

Richardson, who spent a week in Cuba talking to leaders from various Latin speaking nations, said that he would like to see “our new Nobel Peace Prize winning president...pay more attention to Latin America."

Richardson, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination against Obama before dropping out in early 2008, called for a new alliance of progress with Latin American countries to focus on micro-lending, education, health care, new aid efforts and capitalization.

The Governor of New Mexico also commented on the recent selection of Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

“This is our hemisphere, where we have shared generations of culture, and brotherhood...somehow, we’re ignoring the fact that one of the most dynamic countries in the world, Brazil, just overwhelmed us with the Olympic site,” he said.

Richardson closed by asking to see more U.S. free trade agreements with Cuba. "We need to get rid of the travel ban... the embargo has not worked."