This will create the conditions to prevent the flow of irregular migrants to the United States, the diplomat in charge of overseeing White House policies to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador explained.
After two days of meeting with Guatemalan officials, the special envoy of Joe Biden’s government for the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador), Ricardo Zúñiga made some statements to the neighboring country’s press, highlighting that one of the points they will bet most on strengthening democracy and the rule of law in these three countries.
We spoke with the Secretary of State (of Guatemala, Pedro Brolo) about the importance of the rule of law in creating the conditions “necessary so that people do not have to leave these countries irregularly for the United States,” said the veteran diplomat. .
It is thanks to democracy, he added, that it is possible to attract investment and create jobs, as well as meet the health and educational needs of Guatemalan citizens, as well as Honduran and Salvadorans.
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According to the diagnosis of the Biden administration, it is through the focus on basic needs, the search for economic opportunities, the fight against crime, the fight against corruption and the strengthening of democracy that the mass exodus of Central Americans to the United States will take place. avoided.
Work tables
Ricardo Zúñiga added that he had an in-depth discussion with the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, about the need to come up with more and more ways to create opportunities for Guatemalans.
For this reason, on the second day of his visit, he and other officials representing the White House participated in three working groups in which they addressed three main issues: migration, opportunity creation, and the fight against crime and violence. .
During this trial, the diplomat in charge of overseeing US policy in the Northern Triangle emphasized that I have never been in so many years of diplomatic work in a country where I have encountered more than half of a government’s cabinet in less than 18 hours ”.
For his part, the Guatemalan Foreign Minister explained the conformation of the three working tables.
In the field of economic development, Brolo confirmed that members of the Ministries of Economy, Education, Agriculture, Finance and Labor participated. There, they focused on “the need to address the structural causes that cause migration from the standpoint of integrated development, economic development, manufacturing, community development, investment and trade opening,” added the Secretary of State.
They also discussed ways to export agricultural products to the United States, he said.
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The security table consisted of members of the US delegation, as well as personnel from the defense and government portfolios (which in Guatemala is equivalent to the Department of Security). There were also representatives from the Superintendency of Tax Administration and the local prosecutor’s office.
In it he illustrated that they were talking about the existing cooperation between these institutions and agencies of the US government and called for an extension of this cooperation.
“The support we have had to fight smuggling and tax evasion and customs fraud is important,” said the Guatemalan official.
Finally, he explained that the deputy director of the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, the National Council for Migrant Care, the country’s Attorney General and representatives from the United Nations, UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Organization for Migration took part in the migration table .
“We are working with the US government authorities to integrate efforts that will enable us to address not only migration issues in economic development, but also better care for migrants in transit and returnees,” said the Guatemalan Secretary of State. Foreign Affairs.
Both Zúñiga and Brolo insisted that the United States’ borders are closed and called on Guatemalan citizens and the rest of the Northern Triangle not to travel irregularly and without documents to the United States.
However, Biden’s government envoy said they are trying to find legal options for migration and that people do not submit to the risks of taking the dangerous journey across Mexico to a border that remains closed for the time being.
Later he will travel to El Salvador
After passing through Guatemala, Ricardo Zúñiga travels on to El Salvador. While the details of the agenda are not yet known, it is known that the purpose of his visit is similar: to tackle the causes of irregular migration and strengthen bilateral and regional commitments to strengthen democracy and fight corruption.
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His visit to El Salvador comes a few days after President Nayib Bukele attacked Democratic congressman Norma Torres, who questioned her authoritarianism, something the US executive has also pointed out. This has led to conviction by other congressmen of Spanish descent in the United States.
In addition, the Salvadoran government continues to be condemned for its attacks on the independent press and its lack of commitment to transparency. All of these areas have already been marked by Washington.