Obama lauds El Salvador’s Mauricio Funes as a model Central American leader

President Obama hailed the “wise leadership” and reconciliatory efforts of President Mauricio Funes in El Salvador during the third and final stop of his Latin American tour.

Analysts say Obama’s choice to visit El Salvador represents an interesting passing of the torch to a new Central American ally, after years of maintaining a preferential relationship with Costa Rica.

“I think Funes has become Obama’s go-to guy and interlocutor in Central America,” says Kevin Casas-Zamora, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former vice president of Costa Rica.

Original source: Christian Science Monitor