Central America
Harris says US wants to work with Guatemala to limit migration
AFP/Editor
US Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday the United States hopes to work with Guatemala to address the root causes of illegal migration by creating “a sense of hope” in the poverty- and violence-plagued country, on her first trip abroad since taking office.
Meeting President Alejandro Giammattei in Guatemala City, Harris said reducing undocumented migration from Central to North America was a priority for US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Most people do not want to leave the place where they grew up,” loved ones, and people with whom they share a language and culture, Harris said.
But they often do so “either because they are fleeing some harm or because they simply cannot satisfy their basic needs by staying at home,” she added.
Regardless of their reasons for leaving, Harris urged would-be migrants not to make the journey: “Do not come” to the United States, she told them.
“The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders… If you come to our border, you will be turned back,” she said.
Instead, she proposed that the United States and Guatemala “work together” to find solutions to “long-standing problems.”
Critically, people must be given “a sense of hope that help is on the way,” said Harris.
“It must be coupled with relationships of trust. It must be coupled with tangible outcomes, in terms of what we do as leaders to convince people that there is a reason to be hopeful about their future and the future of their children.”
– Create conditions –
Giammattei said Guatemala wanted to cooperate “to create conditions in Guatemala so that they (young people) can find here the hope they do not have today.”
Harris announced a joint task force on smuggling and human trafficking, a women’s empowerment program, and an anti-corruption task force to help Central American law enforcement prosecute cases.
She rejected Republican criticism of the fact that neither she nor Biden had visited the US southern border, saying she had come to Central America to discuss matters in a “way that is significant and has real results” rather than making “grand gestures.”
Harris, who later flew to Mexico to meet President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday, said she had told Giammattei the United States would send 500,000 coronavirus vaccines to Guatemala.
Her trip is part of the Biden administration’s promise to implement a more humane immigration policy after the hardline approach taken by his predecessor Donald Trump.
But the Republican opposition has accused Biden of creating a “crisis” on the country’s southern border by failing to rein in migration.
Congress must still decide whether to approve the $861 million Biden has asked for next year as part of a $4 billion plan to tackle the issue.
American officials have in recent days called on Central American countries to defend democracy and fight corruption in a bid to improve conditions at home and thus eliminate a driving factor for migration.
Asked Monday about Guatemala’s anti-corruption stance, Giammattei said: “How many cases of corruption have I been accused of? I can give you the answer: Zero.”
Central America
Arrests and clashes in Tegucigalpa as vote count continues after Honduras election
Protesters affiliated with the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) gathered in a demonstration that led to several arrests, disturbances, the burning of tires, and left at least 15 people injured outside the center where votes from Honduras’ November 30 general election are still being counted.
The group assembled on Monday outside the National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP) in Tegucigalpa, after President Xiomara Castro called on supporters through social media, claiming that a “new coup d’état” was being plotted in Honduras.
“I call on the people, social movements, grassroots organizations, party militants and citizens to urgently and peacefully gather in Tegucigalpa to defend the popular mandate, reject any coup attempt and make it clear to the world that a new coup is taking shape here,” the president said.
Castro has stated that she does not recognize the partial election results, which currently place right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura in the lead with 40.54% of the vote, followed closely by liberal candidate Salvador Nasralla with 39.20%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada, remains in a distant third place with 19.30%, with no realistic chance of a comeback.
Both the Libre Party and the Liberal Party, led by Castro and Nasralla respectively, have alleged electoral fraud. On Tuesday, the two parties agreed to participate in the special review panels that the National Electoral Council (CNE) says will finalize the count by reexamining 1,081 polling records flagged for irregularities.
Former president Manuel Zelaya, Castro’s husband and a senior figure within Libre, said last week that according to his party’s own nationwide tally of presidential ballots, Nasralla—a former Libre member—won the election.
Central America
Bukele says AI partnership with xAI will transform public education in El Salvador
President Nayib Bukele stated on Monday that the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the support of Elon Musk’s company xAI, will help redefine the future of public education in El Salvador.
“El Salvador and xAI will redefine the future of public education. Children will not use Grok the same way we use it,” the president wrote on X.
Last week, Bukele and Musk announced a partnership to provide personalized tutoring through the AI assistant Grok for all students enrolled in public schools across the country.
This pioneering alliance between the Government of El Salvador and xAI represents the launch of the world’s first national education program powered by artificial intelligence.
“Grok will be used in all public schools in El Salvador over the next two years. More than one million students will receive personalized tutoring. Thousands of teachers will receive assistance and support as partners in the educational process,” the president explained.
Meanwhile, FMLN Secretary General Manuel Flores described the incorporation of AI into public school education as “reckless,” arguing that many schools still lack basic services such as electricity and internet access.
“Schools do not even have desks. They said: ‘All schools will have internet’; that promise was not fulfilled. And others used to say: ‘The only promises that matter are the ones that are kept,’” Flores said during his regular Monday press conference.
Flores questioned who would teach artificial intelligence classes, noting that in some areas schools lack televisions or electricity. “How are they going to have internet? Starlink [satellite internet service] has already been announced five times,” he added.
He further labeled the AI-driven education program promoted by President Bukele as “another lie,” comparing it to the “Two Schools a Day” initiative, which he claimed is “pure propaganda.”
The “Two Schools a Day” program was announced earlier this year and involves the construction or reconstruction of public schools nationwide to improve educational quality. The project is being implemented by government institutions such as the National Directorate of Municipal Works.
Central America
El Salvador ranks among top countries in the Americas in fight against organized crime
El Salvador has positioned itself as the country in the Americas with the strongest performance in the Global Organized Crime Index (GOCI), ranking 18th out of 35 countries in the region and 77th out of 193 nations worldwide that are engaged in the fight against organized crime.
According to the index, El Salvador outperforms Mexico, which ranks 2nd in the Americas and 3rd globally, as well as the United States, which holds the 14th position in the Americas and 60th worldwide.
The Global Organized Crime Index evaluates multiple indicators, including criminal markets, human trafficking and smuggling, extortion, arms trafficking, counterfeit goods trade, illicit trade in excisable goods, environmental crimes involving flora and fauna, crimes against non-renewable resources, heroin, cocaine, cannabis and synthetic drug trafficking, cyber-dependent crimes, financial crimes, mafia-style groups and criminal networks.
Within Central America, El Salvador surpasses Panama, which ranks 8th in the Americas and 21st globally; Costa Rica, ranked 13th in the region and 58th worldwide; Nicaragua, ranked 16th and 69th; Honduras, positioned 5th in the Americas and 13th globally; and Guatemala, which holds 9th place in the Americas and 25th worldwide.
Belize is the only Central American country ranked above El Salvador, placing 23rd in the Americas and 103rd globally. However, while El Salvador climbed 25 positions compared to its 2023 ranking—improving from 52nd to 77th—Belize dropped three positions, moving from 106th in 2023 to 103rd in the current index.
El Salvador’s progress in combating organized crime also surpasses that of several countries across the Americas, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Paraguay, all of which rank lower both regionally and globally.
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