TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS.- The meeting of Ricardo Zúniga, special envoy of the government of Joe Biden for the North Triangle, with the Presidents of El Salvador and Guatemala and the call by a delegation from the government of Honduras to Washington to address the causes of migration and corruption in this country, is leading to a series of contradictions in bilateral relations.
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Former Secretary of State Edmundo Orellana has his own opinion.
How do you view the Biden government’s current relationship with the Honduran government?
These relationships are determined by what federal courts in the southern district of Manhattan determine on the issue of drug trafficking led by politicians from Honduras, and presumably mostly from the government. This is a variable that is out there and it will be the one that will determine everything that comes in relations with the United States. Beyond this, some senators at the political level are pushing for decisions to be made in accordance with what is being done in federal courts.
What would the impact be?
These political decisions are aimed at sanctioning the current ruler and the government, and who will be affected is the Honduran people, as there will be restrictions on the cooperation of states that will translate into suspension of funding, transfer of technology , among other things. .
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Do you believe that the fight against corruption will be strengthened?
I don’t see any way the United States can step up the fight against corruption, since the institutions that should fight corruption are part of the problem, we’re talking about the Supreme Court and the prosecution. Two institutions that are unconditionally available to the ruler.
Do you think Ricardo Zúniga’s non-visit to Honduras has an implicit message?
Yes, of course, but the government doesn’t care. Remember when Nancy Pellosi came here, with a higher representation than Zúniga and she despised the ruler, she said she didn’t want to see him, that he was a despicable person to her, and what did that mean for the government? Nothing, then Trump hugged him and told him he was his representative here in Central America, recognizing him even better merits than the doctors fighting the coronavirus. Look, Trump accused Hernández and his administration of being corrupt and said he had nothing to do with him, but once he managed to make Honduras a safe third country, he became an ally of Hernández’s government and started they prefer the Honduran with the expulsion of the Maccih, it left because the United States wanted it, otherwise it never left.
What can be expected with current relationships for the coming months?
Nothing, nothing at all, because so far Biden is listening to what to do in Guatemala and El Salvador and it seems that they have some contacts with key Honduran government officials, which means that what they were not going to discuss with the government is not true, from from that they begin to lie.
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