Central America
U.S. pledges to continue promoting work visas for Salvadorans
February 16 |
The US ambassador to El Salvador, William Duncan, promised that the US government will continue to promote the H-2 work visa program, hand in hand with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that even more salvadorans can apply for a temporary work stay in the North American nation.
Duncan attended this Wednesday to the interview day conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with U.S. authorities in San Salvador. There are one thousand job openings in eight U.S. companies. The interviews began today and will end on Friday.
However, there will be more positions that will be opened this year. There are already more than 3,600 Salvadorans who have been able to work legally in the United States thanks to the bilateral impulse given to the H-2 visas. These individuals also have the opportunity to return for a new work season.
“These visas have the potential to change the lives of Salvadorans and is an important bet to provide legal migration options. Behind migration there is a strong desire to overcome a father, a mother, who is looking for a way to move their families forward. We are here now to tell them that there are legal and safe opportunities to work in the United States,” said Duncan.
The government of President Nayib Bukele has been able to reduce irregular migration of Salvadorans thanks to the Labor Mobility Program and hard work to improve security.
“Temporary work visas allow them to have access to a source of income without having to put their lives or those of their families at risk,” continued the U.S. representative.
For her part, the Vice Minister of Diaspora and Human Mobility, Cindy Mariella Portal, stressed that the Salvadoran government is committed to working with nations that “respect the sovereignty of our country and contribute to the welfare of the population.”
“Our vision of the country has been reformulated thanks to the government of President Nayib Bukele, who has prioritized the generation of opportunities in the most vulnerable areas of our country,” Portal highlighted.
This 2023 the joint work for the Labor Mobility Program will continue, said both officials.
The Foreign Ministry and USAID have created an employment exchange so that U.S. companies can choose profiles of Salvadoran workers. In addition, the Foreign Affairs team of El Salvador is in charge of managing the approach.
The job categories range from construction, bartenders, laundry, landscaping, cooks, masons, hotels, among others.
The Labor Mobility Program promotes circular migration. Portal reminded that the Foreign Ministry provides all the necessary support, including for the family of the selected person. When working in the United States, those selected also have the support of the consular network.
“To the workers, I wish them the best in their interview. If you are not selected, do not be discouraged, there will be even more opportunities. I assure you that we will continue to promote this type of initiatives hand in hand with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I want to thank Vice Minister Portal for her commitment to this program. We also appreciate the support of U.S. companies that continue to provide jobs to Salvadorans,” said Duncan, who also reflected that working in the United States in a legal and orderly manner “does not have to be impossible.
Central America
Arévalo calls corruption the “fuel of inequality” and reaffirms commitment to public transparency
Guatemala’s President, Bernardo Arévalo, stated on Friday that corruption is “the food of misery” in his country and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continuing to strengthen public spending transparency.
During the first anniversary of the National Commission Against Corruption (CNC) established by his administration, the president expressed his satisfaction with the progress made.
“The road has been difficult,” he said, “but I am greatly satisfied with the fight against corruption, which is the fuel of inequality and the food of misery,” the president declared before members of the international community and government officials.
Arévalo also mentioned that the people who elected him in 2023 for a four-year term that began on January 14, 2024, “demand that we combat corruption.”
Central America
Zúñiga hopes CIDH experts can help investigate intellectual authors of Berta Cáceres’ murder
Bertha Zúñiga, daughter of the murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres, expressed her hope on Friday to EFE that the expert group appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) will help investigate the authorship of the crime to “heal the wounds” and rebuild the social fabric in indigenous communities affected by the hydroelectric project her mother opposed.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) represents an “effort to exhaust the investigations” into the responsibilities of all individuals involved in Cáceres’ murder, as well as in the “violence suffered” from the implementation of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, led by the company Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), emphasized Zúñiga.
“We hope that, with the collaboration of the prosecutorial entities, (the experts) will effectively collaborate to move forward on what we have proposed and demanded for many years: formally requiring the intellectual authors of this crime and analyzing the related crimes,” including corruption and other violations, as well as proposing a comprehensive reparation plan for the victims of the hydroelectric project,” Zúñiga explained.
The CIDH appointed a group of four experts from Argentina, Chile, the United States, and Guatemala on Friday to provide technical assistance to Honduras in investigating the intellectual authorship of Cáceres’ murder, which occurred on March 2, 2016, while she was sleeping in her home in La Esperanza, despite the multiple death threats she had reported due to her opposition to the Agua Zarca project.
Central America
Nicaragua’s family confinement program: 7.18% of released prisoners reoffend
Nicaraguan authorities have released a total of 48,964 common prisoners under the family confinement regime over the past ten years, with 7.18% of them reoffending by committing at least one crime, according to the country’s vice president, Rosario Murillo.
Murillo, who is also the wife of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and appointed “co-president” in a reform to the Constitution, stated through official media that “7.18% are individuals who have reoffended in criminal activity from 2015 to today, February 14, 2025.”
This means that 3,515 out of the 48,964 common prisoners with final sentences who have been granted family confinement privileges have returned to criminal activity, according to the report.
The early release of common prisoners has faced criticism, particularly from feminist organizations, who argue that these benefits have contributed to an increase in femicides and general crime in Nicaragua.
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