Central America
Harris says US wants to work with Guatemala to limit migration
AFP/Editor
US Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday the United States hopes to work with Guatemala to address the root causes of illegal migration by creating “a sense of hope” in the poverty- and violence-plagued country, on her first trip abroad since taking office.
Meeting President Alejandro Giammattei in Guatemala City, Harris said reducing undocumented migration from Central to North America was a priority for US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Most people do not want to leave the place where they grew up,” loved ones, and people with whom they share a language and culture, Harris said.
But they often do so “either because they are fleeing some harm or because they simply cannot satisfy their basic needs by staying at home,” she added.
Regardless of their reasons for leaving, Harris urged would-be migrants not to make the journey: “Do not come” to the United States, she told them.
“The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders… If you come to our border, you will be turned back,” she said.
Instead, she proposed that the United States and Guatemala “work together” to find solutions to “long-standing problems.”
Critically, people must be given “a sense of hope that help is on the way,” said Harris.
“It must be coupled with relationships of trust. It must be coupled with tangible outcomes, in terms of what we do as leaders to convince people that there is a reason to be hopeful about their future and the future of their children.”
– Create conditions –
Giammattei said Guatemala wanted to cooperate “to create conditions in Guatemala so that they (young people) can find here the hope they do not have today.”
Harris announced a joint task force on smuggling and human trafficking, a women’s empowerment program, and an anti-corruption task force to help Central American law enforcement prosecute cases.
She rejected Republican criticism of the fact that neither she nor Biden had visited the US southern border, saying she had come to Central America to discuss matters in a “way that is significant and has real results” rather than making “grand gestures.”
Harris, who later flew to Mexico to meet President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday, said she had told Giammattei the United States would send 500,000 coronavirus vaccines to Guatemala.
Her trip is part of the Biden administration’s promise to implement a more humane immigration policy after the hardline approach taken by his predecessor Donald Trump.
But the Republican opposition has accused Biden of creating a “crisis” on the country’s southern border by failing to rein in migration.
Congress must still decide whether to approve the $861 million Biden has asked for next year as part of a $4 billion plan to tackle the issue.
American officials have in recent days called on Central American countries to defend democracy and fight corruption in a bid to improve conditions at home and thus eliminate a driving factor for migration.
Asked Monday about Guatemala’s anti-corruption stance, Giammattei said: “How many cases of corruption have I been accused of? I can give you the answer: Zero.”
Central America
Bukele warns crime can become a ‘parallel government’ during visit to Costa Rica
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, accompanied by his official delegation, arrived at the site where the new facilities of the Center for the High Containment of Organized Crime (CACCO) are being built. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves welcomed Bukele, marking the start of the cornerstone-laying ceremony.
“Thank you very much to President Rodrigo Chaves and his cabinet for this invitation,” Bukele said, noting that this was his fourth meeting with the Costa Rican leader in the past two years.
In his address, Bukele stressed that insecurity is a problem that undermines all aspects of society. “When insecurity advances, jobs collapse, education becomes more difficult, and the economy slows down. People stop going out, businesses close early, investment leaves, and tourism disappears,” he said.
The Salvadoran president warned that if crime continues to grow, it can turn into a parallel government—“the dictatorship of gangs, criminals, and drug traffickers.” He added that this situation has not yet occurred in Costa Rica and that the country is still in time to prevent it.
Central America
U.S. and El Salvador maintain close partnership, embassy says
The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in El Salvador, Naomi Fellows, said on Monday that relations between the two countries remain “very close” and that both governments continue to work together in several areas of shared interest.
Speaking at a press conference, Fellows highlighted the longstanding friendship between the United States and El Salvador, as well as the achievements reached through bilateral agreements.
“In terms of our relationship with El Salvador, it continues to be very strong, very close. We are partners on security issues, on economic development; partners on migration, and on many other matters,” she said.
Fellows added that the relationship remains solid and is expected to continue strengthening through joint actions and cooperation initiatives.
On security, she noted that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has underscored the results of the measures implemented by the government of President Nayib Bukele to improve public safety in the country.
Senior U.S. officials have visited El Salvador to observe firsthand the impact of the Territorial Control Plan, including tours of the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
Fellows also emphasized the strong personal ties between the two nations, pointing to family and friendship connections that link Salvadorans and Americans.
Central America
Taiwan’s $10 million donation after 2001 earthquakes allegedly diverted in El Salvador
Amid the national tragedy left by the earthquakes of January 13 and February 13, 2001, a controversial corruption scandal emerged that later implicated former presidents Francisco Flores and Elías Antonio Saca, as well as senior executives of the ARENA party.
Although there were efforts to conceal a scheme involving the misuse of public funds, subsequent investigations revealed that between October 2003 and April 2004 the government of Taiwan, led at the time by President Chen Shui-bian, delivered at least three checks totaling $10 million in donations to El Salvador. The funds were diverted and never recorded by the Technical Secretariat for External Financing, the government body responsible for coordinating and monitoring international cooperation resources.
The plight of more than 1.5 million earthquake victims prompted an outpouring of international solidarity. However, it also fueled ambitions among sectors that allegedly took advantage of the emergency to improperly appropriate resources intended to ease the suffering of those affected.
Part of the $10 million donation was earmarked for the construction of housing for residents of Las Colinas, one of the communities hardest hit by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on January 13, 2001, at 11:35 a.m. Plans also included the creation of a memorial park to honor the 525 victims buried by landslides.
At a press conference in January 2014, Alejandro Flores, president of the Las Colinas community board, stated that residents received some assistance from Taiwanese cooperation funds. However, he clarified that this support came from different resources and that the destination of the $10 million donation was never known to them.
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