Kamala Harris arrives in Guatemala to address the causes of illegal immigration to the US

The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, has arrived in the Guatemalan capital on a mission to confront the causes of illegal immigration from Central America to her country and to address the fight against corruption..

Wearing a dark suit and a mask, the vice president arrived at the Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) base in the south of Guatemala City at 6:18 p.m. (0018 GMT), on her first international trip.

She was received by the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Pedro Brolo, and the United States Ambassador to the country, William Popp.. “She is here as part of this [Joe Biden's] administration's overall effort to restore American leadership around the world,” said National Security Adviser to the Vice President Nancy McEldowney..

Harris arrived about two hours late, after the plane he was traveling on had to turn around due to technical problems, minutes after takeoff.. The vice president resumed her journey in a new device.

McEldowney indicated that, in addition to meeting with government representatives, Harris will also have meetings with people from all sectors to advance a comprehensive agenda “that takes into account the need to grow the Guatemalan economy, address the climate crisis and food insecurity , which have given rise to work to combat poverty, violence and corruption”.

“I am certain that it will be a successful visit and that we will continue to strengthen bilateral relations for the benefit of our peoples,” Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei wrote on Twitter, giving the “warmest welcome” to Harris.

“Help is on the way”

Before starting the journey, which will also take her to Mexico, the vice president assured that her trip sought to “give people a sense of hope, that help is on the way, that if they stay, things will improve.”.

The vice president's tour is linked to Biden's promise of a more “humane” immigration policy after the harsh repression of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

But Harris faces even more complex challenges than Biden encountered when, as Barack Obama's vice president, he was in charge of the same issue.

“Conditions have deteriorated dramatically since 2014,” with a worsening economic situation and violence, aggravated “considerably” by the pandemic, said Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue..

The Catholic priest Mauro Verzeletti, director of the Casa del Migrante de Guatemala, called for “a different treatment [to migration] in this context of a pandemic” that has aggravated the economic and social situation.

In statements to the press, he pointed out that the countries involved have to “create public policies so that people are not forced to migrate, and that the United States asylum system is more efficient and that they do not continue repeating what they have done.” Trump.

Regression in Human Rights

Harris will meet on Monday with Giammattei, currently questioned for lack of commitment in the fight against corruption. The meeting will take place in an atmosphere tense due to criticism of independent judges and prosecutors, an issue that worries Washington.

One of the cases is the harassment denounced by Juan Francisco Sandoval, head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI).. “Guatemala is suffering an accelerated regression in the field of human rights. A climate of persecution against dissidents has been established (…), which is reminiscent of the military dictatorships that we thought we had eradicated at the end of the 20th century,” said Guatemalan ombudsman Jordán Rodas.

Harris has assured that he will seek “very frank and honest conversations” in Guatemala about the fight against corruption, crime and violence.. –

“Kamala Go Home”

A small group of Guatemalan protesters, linked to sectors of the right and retired military, sympathizers of former President Trump, rejected the arrival of Harris outside the FAG, accusing her of being a “Marxist” and of wanting to manipulate the country with her “leftist policies”..

“She comes to manipulate [the citizens] politically, with her leftist policies, of socialism, and we do not agree with that,” said former right-wing deputy Fernando Linares, who also questioned Harris's favorable position on abortion..

The protesters are members of groups that frequently question the work of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI) and that supported the closure of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an entity attached to the UN, which completed its functions in 2019. .