The United States updated its list of “corrupt” on Wednesday with 39 officials or former senior officials from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, among which stand out two former Salvadoran presidents and the judge who disqualified the party of a current Guatemalan presidential candidate.
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Since 2021, Washington has annually prepared and presented to Congress the so-called “Engel List” with the names of personalities from the Northern Triangle accused of “corrupt and undemocratic acts”, who are prohibited from entering the country.
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They are “individuals who have knowingly participated in acts that undermine democratic processes or institutions, in significant corruption or in the obstruction of investigations,” the State Department reported in a statement on Wednesday.
This year it has added 39 names, 21 fewer than in 2022. They are ten Guatemalans, as many Hondurans, 13 Nicaraguans and six Salvadorans.
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The government of US President Joe Biden believes that corruption causes instability and favors migration, one of the main headaches for both Democrats and Republicans due to the waves of migrants arriving at the border with Mexico.
The White House’s immigration strategy for Central America, supervised by Vice President Kamala Harris, “prioritizes the fight against corruption and support for the rule of law,” recalls the State Department.
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On Guatemala’s side, the United States added this year to judge Fredy Raul Orellana. This magistrate shook the elections a few days ago by disabling the Seed party of the social democratic candidate Bernardo Arévalo at the request of the prosecutionwho will finally participate in the August ballot.
But Washington does not accuse him for this court ruling, but for “authorizing baseless and politically motivated criminal charges against journalists.”
There is also another judge, a former magistrate, the prosecutor Cinthia Edelmira Monterroso, the leader of the STEG union, Joviel Acevedo Ayala, accused of accepting bribes, the former minister Gendri Rocael Reyes Mazariegos and the president of the National Institute of Electrification, Melvin Quijivix Vega.
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In a statement, the Guatemalan government condemned “the subjectivity” of this list, which it considers “a clear violation of the fundamental rights of the indicated persons” and “a political tool against justice operators.”
Two former presidents on the list
El Salvador’s list includes three former directors of Banco Hipotecario and two former presidents, Salvador Sánchez Cerén and Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagenaboth from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party.
A trusted person from Funes also stands out: Jose Miguel Antonio Menendez Avelarknown as “Mecafé”.
On the part of Honduras there are former officials and two former ministers who participated in the government of former President Juan Orlando Hernández, tried in the United States for drug trafficking.
Among the senior Honduran officials in office are the mayor of El Progreso, Alexander López Orellana, the deputy Samuel García Salgado and the president of the Liberal Party and former presidential candidate Yani Benjamín Rosenthal Hidalgo.
As for Nicaragua, a country under US sanctions for the repression of anti-government protests in 2018, Washington has added 13 senior officials from the government of President Daniel Ortega.
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These are four deputies (Arling Patricia Alonso Gómez, Gladis de los Ángeles Báez, Loria Raquel Dixon Brautigam and Alejandro Mejía Ferreti), two judges (Rosa Argentina Solís Dávila and Ángela Dávila Navarrete) and other high-profile officials.
The Department of State advises that will continue to “use all available tools” to hold “corrupt actors and those who undermine democratic governance” in the region “accountable”.
The Enhanced Engagement Act between the United States and the Northern Triangle, better known as the Engel List, was promoted in 2019 by former Democratic congressman Eliot Engel and approved the following year. It is one of the many lists prepared by the US government for illegal conduct in the world.
AFP
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