The Biden administration’s strategy to slow the flood of migrants arriving at the southern border hinges on an anti-corruption push that risks alienating key leaders in Central America.
Advisers to President Joe Biden say graft is among the top reasons people leave the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to seek economic opportunities elsewhere.
NO SINGLE POINT PERSON FOR BORDER SITUATION, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Upon taking office, Biden pledged $4 billion to the region, building on a campaign promise to strengthen public institutions and bolster good governance and transparency initiatives.
Biden officials have long said they view corruption as one of the root causes of illegal immigration in the United States, a politically fraught issue.
In an interview last month with NPR, Juan Gonzalez, a top aide to Biden on immigration, blamed “a predatory elite” for the spike in arrivals at the border.
“You have, frankly, a predatory elite that benefits from the status quo, which is to not pay any taxes or invest in social programs,” said Gonzalez, senior director for the Western Hemisphere on the National Security Council and a special assistant to the president.
“Migration is essentially a social release valve for migrants,” he said.
Biden has vowed to tackle the issue differently than prior administrations, tying conditions to the billions of aid dollars he has pledged.
He has also said he will give aid to leaders he trusts, setting up a potential conflict with heads of state in the region who were close to the Trump administration or who have faced criticism by Democrats.
Recently, California Rep. Norma Torres, a Democrat and co-chair of the Central America Caucus in Congress, said President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador had behaved like a “narcissistic dictator” who cared little for migrants’ suffering.
The Biden administration has been critical of Bukele, a popular leader who earned the support of former President Donald Trump when he quickly rallied behind the prior administration’s restrictive asylum policies.
In response, Bukele has said he won’t meet with Biden officials until the White House softens criticism of him, aides to the Central American leader told the Associated Press.
He refused to meet with a top Biden official last week, reportedly over what he viewed as poor treatment by Democrats and the new administration.
Arriving in the country, Ricardo Zuniga, the Biden administration’s envoy to the Triangle region, announced a $2 million contribution to a commission focused on eliminating corruption in El Salvador.
Days earlier, State Department spokesman Ned Price had urged the Salvadoran leader to restore a “strong separation of powers where they’ve been eroded and demonstrate his government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.”
The Biden administration rebuffed a request to meet with Bukele during an unannounced trip to Washington in February, fearing that doing so could give him a political boost ahead of the country’s elections, officials told the Associated Press.
Still, Biden met with President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador 11 days before a presidential election.
The White House says it won’t be slowed by Bukele’s response.
“We will continue to work closely with our Salvadoran partners to address challenges in the region, including irregular migration, corruption and impunity, governance, respect for human rights, economic opportunity, and security,” a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner.
Zuniga met other officials, the White House said, including Salvadoran Attorney General Raul Melara, a sharp critic of Bukele, and Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill. He also met with outside leaders from civil society and the private sector.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“These meetings lay the foundation to build on the already strong bilateral dialogue we have with the Bukele administration at all levels and with Salvadoran society,” the official said.
