With an amount of almost US$ 2,000 million, Washington hopes to attack the structural causes of migration. Experts warn that other strategies are necessary.
(Read: The Summit of the Americas begins without Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua)
The United States announced on Tuesday new private investment commitments for almost 2,000 million dollars in Central America to curb illegal migration, the essential issue at a Summit of the Americas marred by the boycott of several presidents, such as Mexico.
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The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, was in charge of announcing the new investment that is part of the Call to Action plan.
It is a contribution of 1,900 million for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador for “new investments of ten companies”, among which are the financial multinational Visa, the textile giant GAP and the telecommunications giant Millicom.
Since the beginning of the Joe Biden government in 2021, the private capital investment promises managed by his administration in the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America total 3.2 billion dollars, after Harris called on the business sector to be part of his plan.
“These investments are creating an ecosystem of opportunity and helping to provide hope. the people of the region to build safe and prosperous lives in their homes,” the White House said in a statement.
.@VP Harris: “When I began work on the root causes of migration from Northern and Central America, I approached the task with a few basic principles. One, my belief, I think our shared belief, that most people don’t want to leave home .” https://t.co/AFvEA3zFGr pic.twitter.com/V37QEe1mun
— The Hill (@thehill) June 8, 2022
insufficient strategy
Harris, who was commissioned by President Biden to deal with the migration crisis that is hitting the region, focuses his strategy on generating job opportunities to prevent citizens of Central America from leaving their homes in search of work.
But the investments proposed by the Government do not seem sufficient. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports about 7,500 unauthorized immigrant apprehensions per day along the border with Mexico, almost five times the average between 2014 and 2019.
Most of these migrants come from the three countries of the Northern Triangle and flee, according to Human Rights Watch (HWR), violence or persecution in their states.
many say escape death threats, extortion and forced recruitment by gangs or drug cartels in Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador, or political persecution and widespread rights abuses in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The experts therefore consider that Washington “must face the problem of migration not from its lens, but from the collective lens” attending to the “roots, but also with palliatives when the fact has already occurred”, declared Leonardo Martellotto, from the NGO JA Americas.
They also indicate that Biden should reach an agreement and a declaration that allows migrants to be integrated into host countries to better manage the crisis.
Although the president hopes to reach said regional declaration on migration during this week’s Summit, the leaders of the key countries to discuss the migration crisis, such as Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, declined to attend the regional meeting and instead sent their chancellors.
“Civil society can contribute with solutions, but the Government has the magic wand of scale”, affirmed Martellotto, who also insisted on the importance of training vulnerable youth and families that receive remittances so that they can get the most out of them as key points in the solution.
In addition to this, according to HRW, “the countries of the region should commit to putting an end to abusive migration policies and guarantee that those who seek protection are received in any part of the continent.”
For his part, President Biden will begin the most intense days of the Summit on Wednesday with a speech.
The president will announce an alliance with Latin America for economic prosperity with a view to revitalizing regional institutions and mobilizing investment. In turn, he will propose an “ambitious reform” of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) “to better address the region’s development challenge.”
Parallel Summit in Cuba
The People’s Summit (a forum parallel to the IX Summit of the Americas) “sIt will be the true transcendental political event for our peoples”, highlighted the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, one day after being excluded from the regional meeting of leaders.
More than 150 organizations from the United States and Latin America will participate in the alternate meeting from June 8 to 10 in rejection of the Summit of the Americas.
Representatives of pro-government Cuban civil society, such as the journalist Cristina Escobar, the scientist Tania Crombet and the musician Israel Rojas, will participate in the alternate meeting.
Despite criticism from several countries, Washington ruled out inviting representatives of the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to Los Angeles, alleging that they do not meet democratic standards. Havana accused the United States of maintaining a “discriminatory and unacceptable” position.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from EFE and AFP
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