Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The United States has a “shared future” with Central America, a country in which Washington seeks to fight “endemic” corruption through a task force and promote the region’s prosperity by cutting irregular migration, two officials said Friday. Americans.
“We have a shared future with Central America and what is good for Central America is good for the United States,” Ricardo Zúñiga, the newly appointed special envoy for the Northern Triangle, said at a telephone press conference, accompanied by President Joe Biden’s main adviser for Latin America, Juan González.
He also noted that when in the North Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras), there is a “critical situation, it affects the United States.”
The U.S. government seeks to act to eliminate the constant arrival of hundreds of immigrants at the U.S. border, which affects “so many people and interests” in the countries, he added.
The U.S. border is “closed” and the Biden government will enforce laws to ensure only authorized people can enter the country, he stressed.
IMPROVING SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE
To cut the irregular migration, According to Zúñiga, it is necessary to create conditions to improve security and governance in Central American countries, to create employment and opportunities for their citizens.
“We have a strategy of collaboration with our partners, not only Mexico, but also Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, to counter these dangerous trips and try to improve conditions in the area, “he stressed.
The United States must create “capacity” to serve thousands of immigrants at its border, which was “broken and dismantled” by the Donald Trump Administration to create difficulties in the asylum system, he stressed.
The special envoy for Central America stated that governance and efforts to fight corruption in the region will be “central” to boosting the dignity, security and prosperity of Central Americans in their countries.
CORRUPTION, an ENDEMIC scourge
Corruption is an “endemic” scourge in Central America and one of the causes of irregular migration, especially in countries where there are no economic opportunities, Gonzalez said.
The United States is pushing the Anti-Corruption Task Force after the departure of the Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Maccih) and the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), he added.
President Biden’s top adviser for Latin America said part of the solution to the migratory flow is to create alternatives in countries, to prevent citizens from “fleeing their homes and taking the dangerous day at the American border.”
The United States must also create “legal avenues” to care for people who make credible asylum applications and can apply from their home country, he explained.
The migratory flow of drugs and weapons “goes through the entry points, the walls don’t work,” said Gonzalez, who indicated that the Biden government has designed a vision aimed at enforcing U.S. laws, but dealing with them. with dignity ”to immigrants and counteract the causes of irregular migration.
“Right now we don’t have a frontier capable of prosecuting individuals, because the previous Administration dismantled our ability to do so,” he added.
He urged immigrants not to “come, the border is not open, we are trying to respond very quickly and robustly to the humanitarian situation in countries that were impacted by last year’s hurricanes and developing strategies together to creating opportunities and combating insecurity “.
Gonzalez said the U.S. government has a “high-level, highly focused” approach to irregular migration on its southern border.
He noted that Biden recognizes that cutting irregular migration means fighting insecurity, poverty and inequality in the countries of the North Central American Triangle.
The two U.S. officials’ visit to Mexico this week, along with White House Southern Border Coordinator Roberta Jacobson, focused on “regular, active collaboration and communication.” Mexican authorities on how to meet migration challenges, add.
In addition, in how the two countries can collaborate in a “closer” way to drive the development of southern Mexico and Central America. EFE