MIAMI (AP) – The Biden administration rejected a request to meet with President El Salvador on an unannounced trip to Washington last week as Central American leader criticism rose among Democrats, three people with knowledge of the decision said Monday.
Nayib Bukele’s trip, which was not previously reported, came after a senior White House official warned in an interview with a Salvadoran newspaper that strongly criticized Bukele that the Biden administration expected to have “differences” with he.
Bukele quickly adopted former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies that restrict asylum applications, bringing him much of his US support for his tough style of government in El Salvador, where he is popular. But, like other world leaders befriended by Trump, he faces an upward turn, pivoting toward Biden The administration, which is trying to overturn those policies and has signaled its relationship with El Salvador, is being examined.
The president’s surprise trip amid a pandemic has been a dilemma for US policymakers. They received too little notice and largely avoid face-to-face meetings because of the coronavirus and because many high-ranking positions remain vacant, the three men said, all in Washington and insisted on speaking anonymously in exchange for the decision. internal – doing.
Rejecting Bukele’s request, Biden officials wanted to make sure Bukele did not try to promote any rallies as a show of support before the legislative elections later this month, where he is trying to expand his power base, people said. . However, they made an exception for Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, who met in Washington with senior Biden officials 11 days before the Andean nation’s presidential election.
Bukele insisted the trip was private and did not request a meeting with Biden officials.
What “president in the world will go on a trip with his wife and daughter to sit in Washington and ask for random meetings to take place immediately? That doesn’t even make sense, “he said in a text message.
The three men did not say how the request for a meeting was made. But they said the decision not to meet with Bukele was deliberate.
While the Biden administration hopes to eventually commit Bukele to its $ 4 billion plan to tackle the root causes of migration in Central America, it has serious concerns about its respect for the rule of law and democracy, people added. .
“Clearly, conditions have changed for Bukele,” said José Miguel Vivanco, director of America at Human Rights Watch in Washington. “His popularity in El Salvador does not isolate him from Washington’s legitimate control over his record of human rights and the rule of law.”
The Western Hemisphere section of the State Department said the Biden administration appreciates what it considers a strong relationship between El Salvador and the United States and will work closely with its partners to address the challenges in the region. A spokesman declined to comment.
During his visit to Washington, Bukele met with Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill, who did not accompany the president on the trip.
The OAS, which last year announced it would send an observer mission to El Salvador for the February 28 congressional elections, did not respond to a request for comment or make a statement about the visit. Almagro is known for regularly posting a tweet about his meetings with visiting dignitaries, and on the same day he met with Bukele, he promoted his participation in a Zoom call with Colombian diplomats.
Bukele took office in 2019 as an independent oath to save El Salvador from the deep divisions left by uncontrolled gang violence and systemic corruption in both right-wing and left-wing governments, which followed the end of a bloody civil war in 1992.
Polls say an overwhelming majority of Salvadorans approve of his harsh approach, which is credited with reducing high levels of violence, and his allies are expected to win a majority in this month’s congressional vote.
But more and more Democrats, as well as some Republicans, have criticized Bukele for strong arming tactics, such as sending troops around Congress last year to pressure lawmakers to vote funding to fight gangs.
Over the weekend, two House Democrats, Rep. Norma Torres and Rep. Albio Sires, chairman of the Latin American Chamber of Foreign Affairs’ subcommittee, sent a letter to Bukele urging him “not to store divisions in the interests of political gain.”
The letter was determined by the January 31 killing of two individuals returning from a rally by Bukele’s opponents in the left-wing FMLN party. Police arrested two FMLN members and a bodyguard working for the Ministry of Health as suspects.
Both Bukele and his opponents took advantage of the confusing incident, which is being investigated, to accuse each other of inciting political violence.
“It seems that the dying parties have put their final plan into practice,” Bukele wrote immediately after the killings, countering criticism from opponents on social media that his rhetoric was to blame for the deaths. “They are so desperate not to lose their privileges and corruption.”
The Biden administration last week terminated Trump-era bilateral agreements with El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, which asked asylum seekers to go to one of the Central American nations instead and continue their applications there.
Legislation passed last year and backed by Democrats limits US foreign aid to El Salvador to finance the purchase of US military equipment. The State Department is also required to submit a public list of sanctioned corrupt Central Americans within six months, a move that could include some of the region’s most powerful politicians.
Juan González, senior director of the National Security Council for the Western Hemisphere, said last month that the Biden administration expects to have “differences” with the president of El Salvador and that any leader who does not want to fight corruption will not be considered an ally of the United States. .
González’s comments gained weight because they were his first as head of White House policy toward Latin America and because they were made in an interview with El Faro, a frequent target of Bukele.
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Joshua Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman