U.S. Outreach Costa Rica

The Obama administration has begun moving on several fronts to repair strained U.S. relations with Latin America. President Obama meets Saturday at the White House with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and he is sending Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Latin American missions to prepare for the mid-April Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.U.S. ties with Latin America including Costa Rica came under stress during the Bush administration, which was largely preoccupied with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and had contentious relations with several left-leaning governments of countries like Costa Rica in the region, notably Venezuela and Bolivia.But the Obama administration said it is intent on trying to repair frayed regional ties based on what it says should be reciprocal dialogue and respect amongst such counries as Costa Rica.