The Biden administration plans to release by the end of June a list of corrupt Central American officials who may be subject to sanctions, a US envoy told Reuters, as Washington seeks to cut back on a root cause of increased migration to the US-Mexican border.
Ricardo Zuniga, President Joe Biden’s special envoy for Central America’s Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, also said the administration was considering further sanctions against officials in the region for alleged graft under the Global Magnitsky Act.
US officials see corruption as one of the main drivers for the flow of migrants, along with poverty, gang violence and the fallout from hurricanes last year, and want to make sure a $4 billion aid package being put together for the region does not fall prey to graft.
“That’s the mandate from Congress. We have a responsibility and we’re going to meet it,” Zuniga said in an interview on Wednesday. “That tracks with our commitment to defend those who are combating impunity.”