The United States wishes to involve Mexico in its plan to reform Central America in order to reduce the number of illegal migrants

Leer en Español: Trump busca incluir a Centroamérica

The US-backed project “Alliance for Prosperity in Central America” came with the aim of discouraging migration by shielding borders and fighting against drug trafficking. While it is a program that came about during the administration of Barack Obama, the new government wants to reform it, including Mexico, to ensure better results. The investment claimed by the current president amounts to 725 million dollars. The plan is designed for the Central American Northern Triangle, which is the center of migration and violence in the region.

The American authority behind the reform is the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), John Kelly, who is knowledgeable of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador since he was the United States’ Southern Command in that part of the hemisphere. Kelly aims to restructure the alliance without increasing funding, pushing Mexico to take a stronger stance in Central America by becoming the leader of the alliance; in addition, new private investments are sought for the region that contribute to its development and to the improvement of the quality of life.

Although for the Central American countries, the presence of a former commander as the designer of the plan implies a militarization of the region; the United States has been emphatic in saying that this will not happen, but rather the idea is to better relations in order to improve political ties between them. For Salvadoran Chancellor Hugo Martinez, the Trump administration has focused only on the economic aspect of Central America, which is beneficial, but has forgotten that migrants leave this area of ​​the continent to the United States for reasons related to violence. “The Central American individual who goes to the United States flees for their safety and that of their families; if it were for money, a greater number would have gone and would be seeking to settle down in the northern country. “

The president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, assures that the American militarization in Central America will not be part of the new plan, since the funds have been destined for social and business tasks only. “The military bases that are already in Central American territory were placed by previous administrations, with Barack Obama, two new bases were installed, which are also designed to support and instruct the police in cases of drug trafficking”, the president clarified in an interview at the United Nations Assembly in New York, United States.

For the Guatemalan administration, headed by President Jimmy Morales, US aid is the opportunity to start a new process regarding Central American integration that produces results and generates mutual cooperation.

The Northern Triangle of Central America (Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador) is one of the most violent areas with a strong migratory flow to the United States, which is why this plan was implemented in 2014 by former President Barack Obama.

Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

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