EL SALVADOR: WSJ Columnist Mary O'Grady Trashes President Funes.

WSJ/ OPINION / Mary Anastasia O'Grady

  "Salvadorans were already disillusioned when candidate Funes came on the scene to offer an alternative. He ran as a moderate leftist who pledged to put a stop to the endemic corruption that had blossomed under Mr. Saca, and to make all Salvadorans better off. So much for campaign promises. Since Mr. Funes came into office, Salvador's debt position has been deteriorating rapidly. In December 2008, the debt-to-GDP ratio was just under 36%. By December 2010 it was more than 51%."

AND:    "When Fitch Ratings warned El Salvador last fall to improve its investment climate or risk a downgrade, Mr. Funes was cavalier. El Salvador's newspaper Diario de Hoy quoted him saying that if the World Bank, the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank didn't have confidence in the country, they wouldn't keep extending credit. He obviously never has heard of Greece"

EL SALVADOR: WikiLeaks Reveals Tensions Between President Funes And His Party.

AP/WASH.POST/
  U.S. diplomatic cables sent over the last two years, and disclosed by LikiWeaks, reveal tensions between President Mauricio Funes
(pictured) and his own party, Farabundi National Liberation Front.
     The cables claim that the Farabundi was organizing anti-government protests and perhaps even tapping Funes' phone lines.
    Since his election in 2009, Funes has distanced himself from   Hugo Chavez and maintained El Salvador's strong ties with Washington, causing some friction with FMLN leaders who "have pushed him to strengthen ties with Venezuelan and Cuba while de-emphasizing the U.S. relationship,"

El SALVADOR: President Funes Under Pressure As Violence, Drug Trafficking Flares.

SPECIAL TO LATIMES/    President Mauricio Funes is under intense pressure just a year into his presidency for ongoing corruption and increasing drug trafficking and violence. "Violence is undermining El Salvador and is capable of sinking the entire country," said Jose Luis Escobar Alas, the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Salvador. The small nation of 6 million has about 12 homicides a day, one of the highest rates in Latin America. After two decades of one-party right-wing rule, the rise of the left and Funes' election raised expectations for many that now seem dashed.

EL SALVADOR:1ST UPDATE: Police Arrest 8 Maras After Bus Attacks That Killed 17.

LAHT/ LINK CHANGE/ 23 June/     8 members of the Mara street gang in San Salvador were arrested for randomly shooting passengers on a bus and dousing another bus with gas before setting it on fire. A total of 17 were killed in the two incidents. Police say gangs  demand protection money from bus companies. Many attacks on bus drivers and fare collectors have been reported in the last 18 months. El Salvador has the highest murder rate in Central America. An official called the attacks "a terrorist act aimed at provoking fear in the population."