U.S. Vice President Joe Biden traveled this month to Central America to meet with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The meetings followed recent confirmation that the Obama administration would include $1 billion in security and economic development assistance for the region in its 2016 budget under the "Alliance for Prosperity." What did Biden accomplish in Central America? Does the White House's proposed spending target the right areas, and if not, where should the focus be? What do the Central American countries need to do to make the plan work? Will concerns over corruption derail U.S. involvement in the alliance?I wasn't asked but increased US focus on the region is a welcome development. $1 billion is probably not enough money and the US Congress will probably make it even less. Increased attention and investments need to be sustained beyond what is currently proposed. The devil is in the details of the plan and its implementation. I'm not sure that the region and the US are prepared to scale-up programs that quickly. No, I do not have as much faith in the region's elected and un-elected officials as some do. Many other things need to go right for the investment to pay off.
I still believe that it will help. You can read the varied answers here.
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