WASHINGTON, United States
The United States wants one Anti-Corruption Task Force in Central America To combat what he sees as an “endemic” problem in the region and one of the drivers of irregular migration, senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration reported Friday.
Juan González, Latin America Adviser to the Biden National Security Council, and Ricardo Zúñiga, State Department Special Envoy for the Central American Northern Triangle, pointed out that fighting corruption is key to ensuring stability and prosperity in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, origin of most of the migrants arriving at the southern US border.
“The issue of corruption is endemic to Central America and to the entire region and is one of the elements motivating migration,” González said during a telephone conversation with journalists.
“It is a very important thing to the president and he is committed to developing a regional task force … against the scourge of corruption,” he said.
González explained that the Biden administration is trying to initiate a process with the U.S. Congress, civil society, the private sector and the governments of the three countries to ensure that the efforts 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 Mission of Aid Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH)
The CICIG, established in 2006 by an agreement between the United Nations and the Oscar Berger government, operated until 2019. The mandate of the MACCIH, created in 2016 by an agreement between the Organization of American States (OAS) and the government of Juan Orlando Hernández, was discontinued in 2020.
“It was disappointing to see the departure of the MACCIH and the CICIG after such a significant effort by then Vice President Biden and the US government to support those structures,” said Zúñiga.
As former President Barack Obama’s number two between 2009 and 2017, Biden strongly supported these entities.
Zúñiga emphasized that International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES), sealed between the OAS and Nayib Bukele’s government in 2019, “represents an instrument already helping to strengthen the rule of law.”
The regional anti-corruption task force would support prosecutors who are committed to justice but who are “alone” in the effort, González said.
The United States would also use the “tools” it already has to fight corruption, such as visa suspension and the freezing of assets of those involved in human rights violations and money laundering in drug trafficking, he said.
– “A bad sign” –
González stressed the need to fight corruption in order to create an environment conducive to investment, something that Biden and his Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei spoke about and agreed “fully” on.
As an example, he cited the La Línea case, a tax fraud scandal at the Guatemalan customs authorities investigated by the CICIG that led to the resignation and imprisonment of then President Otto Pérez in 2015.
“Ensuring transparency in port management is something that not only fights corruption but also promotes economic activity,” he said.
González also referred to the United States’ “concern” about the selection process of the judges of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala.
“Using the courts to protect certain individuals involved in corruption or drug trafficking … is a bad signal,” he said.
– “Productiva” visit to Mexico –
Zúñiga recalled that respect for the rule of law is central to the existence of “dignity, security and prosperity” for Central Americans in their own country.
And that will remain the focus of the United States, because what is happening in Central America is affecting the United States “, he claimed.
González, Zúñiga and Roberta Jacobson, White House coordinator for the Southwest Border, traveled to Mexico this week to discuss forms of ‘closer’ cooperation with local authorities to promote development in Central America and southern Mexico, according to Zúñiga. “structural problems”.
“It was a productive, constructive and collaborative conversation,” said González.
“The interests of the United States and Mexico are aligned with the immigration issue,” he said, “as many migrants also reside in Mexico.”
González and Zúñiga propose the same approach: “looking for common workplaces to address migration issues” in Guatemala, where meetings were postponed due to the eruption of the Pacaya volcano.