Obama Vows Salvadoran Aid, Immigration Reform

Washington Times reported that: Anti-Americanism among leaders in Guatemala and Nicaragua and a 2009 coup in Honduras likely ruled out those countries. And with Mr. Obama bearing no good news on a long-stalled free-trade agreement, Panama would have been an awkward option, while the government of Mr. Funes is seen as more in need of shoring up than that of Costa Rica, another U.S. ally. Some observers were concerned initially that the election in 2009 of Mr. Funes - the first center-left candidate to win office since a truce ended the fighting in 1992 - would spiral the country back into violence. Instead, Mr. Funes, a former TV personality, has been credited with bolstering the nation's democratic credentials. "Thirty years ago, we were shooting bullets [at] each other," said Francisco Altschul, El Salvador's ambassador to the U.S., at a discussion hosted by the Heritage Foundation. "Twenty years ago, we were able to find a political solution to our conflict. The past two years, we have been advancing and consolidating our democratic institutions."