The legislature has demonstrated the current relationship between the United States and El Salvador in a hearing on the immigration reforms.
During the hearing held by the House of Representatives of the United States Congress evaluating the causes of immigration from the Northern Triangle, Albio Sires, representative of New Jersey’s 8th District, warned President Nayib Bukele that if he continues to interfere with the elections in the United States he will “face as a threat to national security”.
Two weeks ago, Bukele had a social media dispute with Democratic Congressman Norma Torres, who is co-chairing the Central American caucus in the US Congress. Torres told Bukele not to worry about the situation of Salvadoran migrants on the US border.
Read here: Congressman in Bukele: “Instead of spending millions on lobbying, he lets them use for children in El Salvador”
The legislature has demonstrated the current relationship between the United States and El Salvador in a hearing on the immigration reforms. Illustrative and non-commercial video / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8SIkcgfStg&t=422s
To which Bukele responded by asking residents of California’s 35th district not to vote for her, followed by a series of attacks. This led to the condemnation of the US Congress’s Hispanic Caucus, which brought together 37 lawmakers; Congressmen believed that Bukele’s call in relation to the US election could be seen as a threat to National Security.
In recent weeks, Salvadoran government officials have been trying to discredit members of the United States Congress. Unfortunately, this campaign to manipulate public perception is supported by millions of dollars in payments to lobbyists, ”added Sires in a link from the public shared by the US media. Voice of America.
On April 9, a new $ 1.2 million contract was announced between Nayib Bukele’s government and the Arnold & Porter agency, putting it in charge of influencing a loan negotiation for the International Monetary Fund. It is not the first time that Bukele has hired lobbyists in the United States to counter the image he has raised in recent months.
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The representative of Congress added that they have even received death threats: “Members of Congress are being threatened and harassed as a result. It recently escalated to the point where El Salvador’s head of state (Nayib Bukele) urged a member of Congress voters to vote to remove (Norma Torres) from office. “
The audience in which Sires demonstrated the current relationship between the United States and El Salvador observes the immigration reforms.
Despite migration figures, Bukele refused to receive the special envoy
Bukele struggles to get close to Joe Biden’s administration, but his actions aren’t helping either. A few days ago, the United States government sent Ricardo Zúñiga, a senior official near Biden, on a mission to address the causes of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. But Bukele refused to receive it.
The US State Department special envoy managed to speak to Chancellor Alexandra Hill, but the meeting became known as the US Embassy in El Salvador publicized it. The government was silent.
The migration crisis unleashed at the southern border of the United States by the arrival of thousands of unaccompanied children has left the Biden administration in trouble. The number of Salvadorans detained at the southern border of the United States in February is higher than last year.
Related note: The US government sees an alarming worsening of the separation of powers in El Salvador
In February of fiscal year 2021, the Office of Customs and Border Protection of the United States (CBP, for the acronym in English) detained 1,774 Salvadorans attempting to enter the United States without documents, 28% more than the 1,488 than the office. registered in February of the 2020 fiscal year.
In addition, on April 4, it was announced that of the 171,000 migrants of various nationalities detained at the southern border of the United States in March, about 4,069 were Salvadorans. Among them 1,569 unaccompanied children.