U.S. Embassy Business Officer Brendan O’Brien said denying visas is a tool they use to prevent such cases.
U.S. business manager Brendan O’Brien said in a television interview yesterday that where there is evidence that there is corruption they will use all the tools to prevent them, such as visa revocation, d according to the Engel list that is months away from publishing Washington.
“When there is corruption all over the world it needs to be named,” he said in the fact that they will disclose the names and surnames of the participants in these acts.
O’Brien explained that in other years they have used visa revocation to fight not only corruption, but in other cases as “coyotes”, and in other circumstances where they can use this visa revocation tool, in this case not only includes the denial of the visa but there may be the freezing of assets and accounts that may, whether officials or persons of interest to the American country, that they have in the United States.
SEE: “Salvadorans need to be careful” with doing business with China, says U.S. Business Manager
“We can’t talk about specific cases but we have revoked visas,” O’Brien points out.
He said that with regard to the aid that the United States has offered for the Central American region, specifically the $ 4 billion for El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the benefit will be direct to the population, where they will work with the government. private sector and organizations, “this is the intention, to create jobs it is important to work with the whole Salvadoran community,” he argues.
According to the United States, the Engel list will be published in June, where it will announce the names of people involved in corruption cases in Central America, whose visa will be revoked to enter that country, which could affect the relationship with the United States.
Beware of China
The U.S. Embassy’s business manager says his country is the “reliable partner” and that they will always be supporting El Salvador, as in the case of vaccines, for which he opined that it is good that the China is making donations to the country, because it is a shared challenge, but on economic issues such as loans to El Salvador, he stated that Salvadorans must be careful.
Read also: Special Assembly Committee recommends Bukele remove the Minister of Health
“On other issues, such as working economy or loans to El Salvador, my opinion would be that Salvadorans should be careful, because as we have seen in the region, there are practices without transparency, sometimes with corruption, with loans and there are many countries that have come to borrow from China, ”says the U.S. businessman.
He added that if the use of these loans, given, if there is transparency it would be good to have negotiations with China.
“A country can have a relationship with any country it wants, but we will always be, we have always been with El Salvador and we will be with El Salvador in the future,” O’Brien said.
He believes that in El Salvador there has been a lot of success with Fomilenio II, with other businesses, where it is important in business to be transparent and ensure that there is no corruption. O’Brien says the country has always had problems with corruption like everyone else, but believes that creating CICIES can help with the fight against corruption, so he considers it important to support it.