US Congressman calls for “serious” restrictions on aid for “corrupt officials” in Central America

In her letter, Democratic Congressman Norma Torres referred to the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. He said Nayib Bukele in El Salvador “is using his influence to discredit legitimate democratic institutions and processes.”

Democratic congressman Norma Torres, of Guatemalan descent, asked Joe Biden’s government to “severely” limit economic aid to the governments of Central American countries, citing “corruption” and “bad governance”.

“I implore you not to send money directly into the hands of corrupt officials,” the legislator said in a letter dated Wednesday, March 24, 2021 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

SEE: US Congressman Attributes Migration Crisis to Corrupt and Failed Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras

“Our foreign aid must go to civil society, non-governmental organizations, multilateral institutions and other credible institutions that have a proven track record of helping vulnerable people and communities,” he said in the letter.

In his letter, Torres was referring to the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. He said that in El Salvador, Nayib Bukele “uses his influence to discredit legitimate democratic institutions and processes”.

Torres points out that the aid the United States provides should go directly to those in need in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, not to governments or their corrupt officials.

In Guatemala, he said the military has used US security assistance to intimidate the US embassy itself.

“US taxes should not be wasted on corrupt government officials as long as the people of #CentralAmerica continue to suffer,” he added on Twitter.

It may interest you: C.Congressman Jim McGovern: “I am concerned and disappointed” about the authoritarian path El Salvador is following

In addition, he cited lawsuits in federal courts in New York, according to which the President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, “protected drug traffickers while bragging about bringing drugs to the United States.”

Torres also recently attributed the increase in unaccompanied minors and irregular migrants to the “corrupt and failed” governments of the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, a sub-region that includes Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

It is not the first time that Torres, a member of the Subcommittee on State Assignments and Foreign Operations of the House of Representatives, has been seeking US aid to those in need in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the home of most undocumented migrants. with whom they increasingly reach the southern border of the United States.

In the omnibus financing law of 2020, Torres secured funding for the fight against corruption in those three countries, as well as the identification of corrupt officials and the elimination of military funding.

Torres, of the Democratic Party, questioned former Republican President Donald Trump’s management for allowing “rampant” corruption in the so-called Central American Northern Triangle.

Bukele, who became president in 2019, has been singled out by various sectors of the international community for his authoritarianism and low transparency in his administration.

Recently, Jim McGovern, a member of the United States House of Representatives, said he was concerned about the “authoritarian path taken by the El Salvador government” and identified serious threats to the rule of law.

Also: US congressmen call on Biden not to endorse Bukele’s government abuse, political violence and corruption

McGovern has been a staunch critic of the abuse of power demonstrated by the Salvadoran president at various times, such as the military takeover of the Legislative Assembly in February 2020 or the weakening of institutions and human rights.

Last February, 15 US Congressmen also expressed “deep concern about political violence, intimidation and corruption in El Salvador”.

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