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        {"code":"26225","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"1146","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202206\/centroamerica\/26225","link_edit":"","name":"Central America Talks Back to Biden","slug":"central-america-talks-back-to-biden","info":"After the no-show of the Northern Triangle presidents at the Americas Summit, their foreign ministers gave strident speeches defying Joe Biden and named their countries\u2019 terms for U.S. and regional engagement. El Salvador and Guatemala used claims to sovereignty to spurn international criticism. Honduras reaffirmed its desire for a U.N.-backed anti-corruption commission, but invoked the 2009 coup in a warning that collaboration will hinge on non-meddling in \u201cinternal affairs.\u201d","mtag":"Newsletter","noun":{"html":"El Faro English","data":{"el-faro-english":{"sort":"","slug":"el-faro-english","path":"el_faro_english","name":"El Faro English","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1146","pict":{"cms-image-000034728-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"34728","name":"cms-image-000034728.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000034728.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000034728.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000034728-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 04: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, joined by vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), speaks one day after Americans voted in the presidential election, on November 04, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden spoke as votes are still being counted in his tight race against incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump which remains too close to call. Drew Angerer\/Getty Images\/AFP&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EWILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 04: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, joined by vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), speaks one day after Americans voted in the presidential election, on November 04, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden spoke as votes are still being counted in his tight race against incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump which remains too close to call. Drew Angerer\/Getty Images\/AFP\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":34728,"date":{"live":"2022\/06\/15"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"06","data_post_dateLive_DD":"15","text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/0bgMNpc0t25WEWCgGrMyT9?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/suscribe\/en\/\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESubscribe to our newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHad Nayib Bukele attended the Americas Summit, he was expected to have choice words for Joe Biden and likely would have staged a massive event with the Los Angeles diaspora designed as a public crowning. But the Salvadoran president defied him remotely: He refused to even pick up a call from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to convince him to attend, according to the New York Times, and on the opening day he tweeted that the Organization of American States (OAS) is the U.S. \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nayibbukele\/status\/1535057918923788288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EMinistry of Colonies\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAttending in his place, Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=27875\"\u003Edoubled down on the criticism\u003C\/a\u003E: \u201cMultilateral organisms in the hemisphere must re-found themselves,\u201d she said, \u201cor they will be condemned to losing all credibility and legitimacy and disappearing completely.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHill made no reference to the fact that she worked for the OAS in Washington for over a decade in its anti-drug office and used to present herself as a close friend of Secretary General Luis Almagro. She also omitted that Bukele\u2019s administration partnered with the OAS in 2019 to create the international anti-corruption commission CICIES, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202201\/el_salvador\/25948\/El-Salvador-Attorney-General-Raids-Offices-of-Anti-Corruption-Prosecutors.htm\"\u003Elater dissolved amid investigations\u003C\/a\u003E into high-level government corruption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEl Salvador's speech at the summit was a \u003Cstrong\u003Erebuttal to two years of international criticisms\u003C\/strong\u003E and failed State Department efforts to temper Bukele\u2019s abuses of power. \u201cEl Salvador has set out on a path of no return,\u201d Hill emphasized. \u201cFor the first time since we became a republic, in El Salvador we breathe hope, peace, and a desire for progress.\u201d It\u2019s the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/elfaro.net\/el-faro-english-nicaraguan-opposition-house-divided-6212836?e=3e101df639\"\u003Esame message\u003C\/a\u003E that Bukele delivered to international observers after he ordered the judicial coup in May of 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=27875\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EListen to Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hill's speech here.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETime will tell how the irascible Bukele will react to the near-certain inclusion of close confidants in the next edition of the Engel List this month and DOJ indictment of two of the members of his security cabinet who led negotiations with the country\u2019s gangs and one of whom admitted to helping a leader of MS-13 escape to Guatemala despite a U.S. extradition request.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGuatemala, too, played the sovereignty card in response to the international criticisms of the sweeping \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202206\/centroamerica\/26216\/New-Targets-of-Attorney-General%E2%80%99s-Lawfare-against-Guatemalan-Justice.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Epersecution of anti-corruption judges and prosecutors\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. On Tuesday, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_elfaro_\/status\/1536798802270633985?s=20&t=l3WUoG3OZQqz2x2dp-cWPg\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ENorway\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E condemned a \u003Cstrong\u003Enew effort to criminalize former attorney general Claudia Paz y Paz\u003C\/strong\u003E, who famously tried ex-dictator R\u00edos Montt for genocide.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added her voice to the chorus in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/statements\/2022\/06\/oral-update-global-human-rights-developments-and-activities-un-human-rights\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecalling on Guatemala\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to guarantee the independence of judicial institutions and protection of justice officials.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn his remarks at the Summit, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario B\u00facaro used a condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to vindicate \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=29231\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E\u201csovereignty.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0 But he was referring to the reason that President Alejandro Giammattei did not attend: U.S. sanctions and opposition to the reelection of Attorney General Consuelo Porras.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=29231\"\u003EListen to Guatemalan Foreign Minister B\u00facaro's full remarks here.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGiammattei has \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202206\/centroamerica\/26206\/Biden%E2%80%99s-Central-America-Problem-on-Display-at-LA-Summit.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecast U.S. Democrats as the culprits\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of its diplomatic problems and used the defense of God and family as a smokescreen when corruption cases arise. \u201cWe\u2019re open to dialogue and ready to listen, but we also need you to listen to us,\u201d said B\u00facaro, adding: \u201cWe cannot allow those with policies, thinking, or inclinations that we do not share to maliciously weaken our principles and values or impose agendas that violate them.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe New Friend\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHonduras is a different story. Whereas recent U.S. corruption sanctions have pushed relations with El Salvador and Guatemala to the brink, Honduras\u2019 non-attendance had to do with Xiomara Castro\u2019s balancing of her interest in international cooperation with the party Libre\u2019s historical ties to left-wing governments like Nicaragua and Venezuela, whose exclusion from the summit led her to withdraw.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn his remarks Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=30376\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecalled for \u201crespect for the self-determination of peoples\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and non-interference in other states\u2019 internal affairs,\u201d naming the 2009 military ousting of Castro\u2019s husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, that was later legitimated by the international community. \u201cIn Honduras it has taken us 12 years and much darkness, death, and pain to return to the democratic path,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe also offered a carrot, underscoring Castro\u2019s interest in an agreement with the United Nations to create the International Commission against Impunity in Honduras (CICIH), modeled after Guatemala\u2019s now-defunct CICIG.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CXnKPo0Osjs?t=30376\"\u003EListen to Honduran Foreign Minister Reina's remarks here.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EA major question is \u003Cstrong\u003Ewhether CICIH would have the political space to support investigations into Zelaya\u003C\/strong\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/contracorriente.red\/en\/2022\/05\/27\/the-zelaya-clan-returns-to-power-in-honduras\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Enow a close advisor to Castro\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. In sworn testimony in March 2021, Devis Rivera Maradiaga, the ex-leader of the Los Cachiros cartel, listed Zelaya among \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/elfaro.net\/el-faro-english-us-prosecutors-signal-honduran-narco-state-6170591?e=3e101df639\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ethree recent Honduran presidents that he allegedly bribed\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs expected, Panama and Costa Rica offered a respite from the criticisms. The \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202204\/centroamerica\/26114\/Costa-Rica-Chooses-Trump-Inspired-Outsider.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Enew Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, to assuage widespread uncertainty about his democratic bona fides and budding-populist manners, underscored the country\u2019s \u201cpolitical stability\u201d and said he was committed to human rights and curbing forced migration. He did not, however, directly mention U.S. relations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EUpon taking office Biden named the isthmus as a foreign policy priority and tasked Kamala Harris with nurturing relations. But the regional leadership complicated any real engagement at first, and now, with the war in Ukraine and January 6-sized problems at home, the administration\u2019s attention has shifted, even as the White House announced in Los Angeles new projects in Central America including $1.9 billion in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/06\/07\/fact-sheet-vice-president-harris-announces-more-than-1-9-billion-in-new-private-sector-commitments-as-part-of-call-to-action-for-northern-central-america\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Edirect corporate investment\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and several millions to civil society and the defense of freedom of speech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENone of those funds will be channeled through regional governments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThanks for reading. Consider \u003Cstrong\u003Efunding independent journalism in Central America\u003C\/strong\u003E, in its most critical hour, at\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/elfaro.us19.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=a822abdb775cca5db840e11e5&id=289f1027f4&e=3e101df639\"\u003E \u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Esupport.elfaro.net\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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