Interviewed on Channel 33, Dan Restrepo realized the doors that were closed to the Salvadoran president and the message that this sent: his undemocratic practices will not be validated.
Former Obama administration special adviser for Latin American affairs Dan Restrepo confirmed in an interview on Channel 33 what was reported by various media: that the Joe Biden administration rejected Bukele’s meeting requests when he was in Washington the week before.
“I know it first hand. I know there were attempts by President Bukele to have meetings with officials of the new President Biden and they did not attend to him,” he said, adding that “it is well established here in Washington that he did look for those meetings and he didn’t have a meeting. “
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The expert in the region did not delve into which institutions closed the door to the Salvadoran president, but explained that “these are the offices where a president would normally seek a meeting in Washington, with important people on the team. of President Biden, on the relationship with Latin America. “
Restrepo added that the message (from the White House) is quite obvious (…) that those who respect the democratic frameworks of the rule of law will be close partners with the US. out of these frameworks will have a more complex relationship. “
He also rebuked what Bukele did to the diplomatic corps, where he discredited the press and cornered the U.S. embassy’s business manager to hold his version that he never sought the meeting, which already has been widely denied.
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According to Restrepo, Bukele is facing the first signs of a White House that will place greater emphasis on democratization and the fight against corruption. Proof of this are the statements of its main adviser for Latin American affairs, Juan González, who stated that the leader who does not fight corruption will not be a friend of Washington.
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He also noted that President Joe Biden is well acquainted with the region and its challenges. “Look, what I know of President Biden is that he is a man who knows and believes and understands the importance of a good relationship between the United States and the peoples of Central America.”
Restrepo added that Biden “understands that the United States has an important role to play with civil society, with multilaterals, with governments in the region, in tackling the drivers of irregular migration and in trying to build sustainable societies in El Salvador and other countries in the region. And he will get to work. “