Recognize and Work with the New Central America

Mr. President-elect, please take a moment to recognize the vast changes in my region, Central America. Some of your compatriots already have, and they are surprised by what they have found. I recently enjoyed a cup of Salvadoranian coffee with a U.S. investor who regularly commutes between Manhattan and El Salvador, in less time than it would take him to go to San Francisco. He told me that the image of Central America many people in the U.S. have is no longer consistent with reality.

That shouldn’t be surprising. Today, Central America is a region of peace, with democratically elected governments who respect individual freedoms and human rights. It is difficult for anyone who visits us now to imagine that just two decades ago most of our countries were suffering the horrors of civil war.

Certainly the change has been recognized to some extent by Washington…