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Latin America鈥檚 least popular president finally has something to cheer about. Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, whose approval ratings barely register in double digits, could receive an 鈥淥bama bounce鈥� in the polls after the US president traveled to the capital city of San Jos茅 and heralded her country as an exemplary leader for Central America.

In just his second visit to Central America and his first trip to Costa Rica, President Obama this weekend called for new partnerships and increased integration with the region 鈥撀爀specially in the areas of trade, innovation, and energy. Mr. Obama, who arrived in San Jos茅 Friday afternoon to a rock star鈥檚 welcome of people lining the streets to cheer his motorcade, lauded Costa Rica for its historic commitments to democracy, peace, human rights, education and socioeconomic development.

Costa Rican government officials and local pundits are proudly interpreting Obama鈥檚 visit as first-world recognition of their country鈥檚 new standing as an international player. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo said Obama鈥檚 visit puts Costa Rica in a 鈥渂etter position to become a modernized country on the path to progress.鈥�

Nuria Mar铆n, a political analyst for Teletica Channel 7 News, echoed those sentiments, calling Obama鈥檚 visit an acknowledgment of Costa Rica鈥檚 鈥渞egional protagonism鈥� and the country鈥檚 鈥渞eturn to the geopolitical map.鈥� Just by spending 24 hours in the capital city of San Jos茅, Obama has helped to 鈥渟trengthen Costa Rica鈥檚 brand name for attracting more US tourism and investment,鈥� Ms. Mar铆n predicts.

Other analysts, however, are still scratching their heads over what the summit was all about. Some are even questioning whether Obama鈥檚 stop in Costa Rica was just part of an extended layover on a circuitous return flight to Washington after a tough two-day working trip in Mexico.

鈥淭his has been one of the most mysterious presidential visits I have witnessed in the last two decades,鈥� says Costa Rican political analyst and 2014 presidential hopeful Luis Guillermo Sol铆s. 鈥淣othing seemed to make sense about the objectives of Obama鈥檚 visit.鈥�

Costa Rica as vanilla ice cream

During his stay in San Jos茅, Obama met privately and publicly with Ms. Chinchilla, held a private dinner with his counterparts from Central America and the Dominican Republic, and participated in an investment forum with nearly 200 MBA students and Central American business leaders. The agenda items ranged erratically from trade, drugs, and immigration, to clean energy, gender equality, education, infrastructure, and gay marriage. The summit ended without a joint declaration and with no agreements, resolutions, or even a clear sense of what comes next.

Even the most innovative proposal that was discussed during the meeting (the possibility of using the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement [CAFTA] as a platform for the United States to sell liquefied natural gas to Central America to reduce the region鈥檚 soaring energy costs) was delivered with an asterisk when Obama said he still has to make an executive decision whether the US聽even wants to export liquefied natural gas.

Some analysts are calling Obama鈥檚 trip to Costa Rica an empty-handed courtesy call after being criticized for neglecting the region during his first term in office. And when it came to deciding which Central American country to visit, Costa Rica was viewed as the safest choice to get in and out without incident, says Nicaraguan political analyst Arturo Cruz.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to go wrong with Costa Rica.聽It鈥檚 a democracy with a vibrant economy and a friendly government that will always be friendly to the US,鈥� Mr. Cruz says. 鈥淐osta Rica is like vanilla ice cream; it鈥檚 a safe bet. How can you go wrong with vanilla ice cream?鈥�

Costa Rica also holds the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), which gave Obama the excuse of not playing favorites.

But given Central America鈥檚 current cast of presidents聽鈥撀�Guatemala鈥檚 Otto Perez is a leading critic of the US drug war, El Salvador鈥檚 Mauricio Funes has failed to assume a regional leadership role that the US had hoped he would step into, Honduras鈥檚听Porfirio Lobo is viewed as a political byproduct of the 2009 coup, Nicaragua鈥檚 Daniel Ortega is democratically challenged and prone to 鈥渁nti-yanqui鈥� political ranting, and Panama鈥檚 Ricardo Martinelli is considered a loose cannon autocrat who is well-suited for his nickname, 鈥淓l Loco鈥澛犫�撀燙hinchilla was an easy pick, despite her unpopularity and socially conservative views.

Central America鈥檚 troubled integration

Though the presidents of the region managed to gather at the same dinner table for a meal with Obama, Central America鈥檚 strained integration process started to show through the smiles soon after dessert was served. Few details were made public about the presidents鈥� private meeting on Friday night, but by Saturday morning the presidents of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras had already left the country before Obama鈥檚 meeting with Central American business leaders.

Central America鈥檚 political integration, which has been a nonstarter since the early 19th聽century, has become even more strained in recent years as the various political leaders of the isthmus lead their countries in diverging directions. As Nicaragua seeks closer ties with countries such as Russia, Iran, and the leftist Latin American nations belonging to the Bolivarian Alliance for Our Americas, Costa Rica is celebrating what former President and Nobel Peace laureate Oscar Arias this week called his country鈥檚 鈥渆xtraordinary new chapter in the long history of friendship鈥� with the US.

Ironically, Nicaragua in some ways is on as equally good footing as Costa Rica to talk with Obama about the issues of renewable energy technologies, growing trade and investment under CAFTA, and citizen security聽鈥撀爐hree areas in which Nicaragua is excelling. But politics being what they are, President Ortega, the former socialist firebrand whose revolutionary government battled US-funded counterrevolutionaries in the 1980s, remained quiet during the summit while Costa Rica grabbed the spotlight. Ortega departed Costa Rica early Saturday morning for another summit in Venezuela, where attitudes toward the Obama administration are markedly different than they are in Costa Rica.