WASHINGTON, United States
The United States wants to create one force of anti-corruption tasks in Central America to combat what he considers an “endemic” problem in the region and one of the drivers of irregular migration, senior government officials Joe Biden reported on Friday.
Juan González, adviser on Latin America in the Biden National Security Council, and Ricardo Zúñiga, special envoy of the State Department for the Central American North Triangle, have noted that fighting corruption is key to ensuring stability and prosperity in Guatemala. Salvador and Honduras, the origin of most migrants arriving at the South American border.
“The issue of corruption is endemic to Central America and the entire region and is one of the elements that motivates migration,” Gonzalez said during a phone call with reporters.
“It is a very central thing for the president and he is committed to developing a regional task force (…) against the scourge of corruption,” he pointed out.
González explained that the Biden administration seeks to initiate a process with the US Congress, civil society, the private sector and the governments of the three countries to ensure that the effort of this task force be “collaborative” and “not just imposed by the United States.”
– “Disappointing” –
The idea of an anti-corruption task force arose after the dissolution of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH)..
The CICIG, created in 2006 by an agreement between the United Nations and the government of Oscar Berger, operated until 2019. The mandate of the MACCIH, founded in 2016 by an agreement between the Organization of American States (OAS) and the government of Juan Orlando Hernández, was terminated in 2020.
“It was disappointing to see the departure of the MACCIH and the CICIG after such a major effort on the part of then-Vice President Biden and the U.S. government to support these structures,” Zúñiga said.
As number two of former President Barack Obama between 2009 and 2017, Biden strongly supported these entities.
Zúñiga stressed that the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES), sealed between the OAS and the Nayib Bukele government in 2019, “represents a tool that is already helping to strengthen the rule of law.”
The regional anti-corruption task force would support prosecutors committed to justice, but who are “alone” in that effort, Gonzalez said.
The United States would also apply the “tools” it already has to fight corruption, such as suspending visas and freezing assets to individuals involved in human rights violations and money laundering, he said. pointed out.
– “A bad signal” –
González stressed the need to fight corruption to create an environment conducive to investment, something that Biden and his Guatemalan partner Alejandro Giammattei talked about and in which they agree “totally”.
He gave as an example the case of the Line, a tax fraud scandal in customs in Guatemala investigated by the CICIG, and which led to the resignation and imprisonment of then President Otto Pérez in 2015.
“Ensuring that there is transparency in the management of ports is something that not only fights corruption but also promotes economic activity,” he said.
González also referred to the “concern” of the United States for the selection process of judges of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala.
“The use of courts to protect certain individuals involved in corruption or drug trafficking (…) sends a bad signal,” he said.
– “productive” visit to Mexico –
Zúñiga recalled that respect for the rule of law is central to “dignity, security and prosperity” for Central Americans in their own countries.
“And this will continue to be the focus of the United States because what happens in Central America affects the United States “, affirm.
González, Zúñiga and Roberta Jacobson, White House coordinator for the southwestern border, traveled to Mexico this week to discuss with local authorities forms of “closer” collaboration to promote development in Central and South America. Mexican, where according to Zúñiga there are “structural problems”.
“It was a productive, constructive and collaborative conversation,” Gonzalez said.
“The interests of the United States and Mexico are aligned on the issue of migration,” he noted, “since many migrants also stay in Mexico.”
González and Zúñiga envisage the same approach of “looking for common areas of work to manage the migration issue” in Guatemala, where meetings were postponed due to the eruption of the Pacaya volcano.