San Salvador, El Salvador
United States special envoy to the Northern Triangle of Central America, Ricardo Zúñiga, announced on Wednesday the donation of more than $ 2 million to an Organization of American States (OAS) anti-corruption commission in El Salvador.
Zúñiga arrived in El Salvador on a four-day trip, which took him first to Guatemala, not Honduras, to tackle the causes of irregular migration.
“The Biden administration has made it very clear that the fight against corruption is fundamental in our support of the countries of Central America,” he said at a conference that banned press inquiries.
He added that “we want to support the government of El Salvador in breaking the corruption cycle” and welcomed the initiative of the government of Nayib Bukele to take control of the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador (Cicies) to the funds used to attend the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zúñiga also recognized social organizations working for one Cicies “Independent”.
Nayib Bukele’s government and the OAS have it Cicies, who would be responsible for conducting administrative investigations in corruption cases in the 105 state entities.
The Commissioner of the Cicies, Ronalth Ochaeta, pointed out that they provided 25 assistances to the Public Prosecution Service, among these 12 “notices of possible illegal corruption in five state portfolios”.
The announcement of financial aid comes on the same day that Salvadoran President Bukele rejected the call from humanitarian organizations to the Legislative Assembly to pass a law that would make the government independent from the executive.
“Just by seeing the logos of the NGOs behind this ‘proposal’ and the ‘media’ that are publishing it, I am sure this would be the worst we could do, ” he wrote. president on his Twitter account.
He added that “no longer insist, nothing approved by the outgoing @AsambleSV will ever come into effect.”
On May 1, the new Legislative Assembly takes office, in which the ruling New Ideas (NI) and the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) together make up 61 of the 84 delegates, almost 73% of the seats.
UNCONFIRMED MEETING WITH BUKELE
The Salvadoran government and the US Embassy have not confirmed whether Zúñiga will meet with President Bukele or executive officials.
At a press conference in Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to clarify whether Zúñiga will meet with Bukele or another member of the Salvadoran government.
“We don’t have a meeting to inform you about, but if that changes, we’ll be happy to,” Price said only at Efe’s request.
The spokesperson explained that Zúñiga is in “general terms” in Central America to talk about the problems that migration to the north causes, such as insecurity, lack of economic opportunity and corruption.
He recognized that “all” governments of the Northern Triangle, including the Salvadoran, have a “role” to play in improving conditions in those countries; But he recalled that part of Washington’s strategy is to partner with civil society and nongovernmental organizations.
“We have a strong relationship with El Salvador and its people and we continue to work closely with our Salvadoran allies to address the challenges in the region,” Price added.
Zúñiga’s full program in El Salvador is unknown, but he is expected to hold private meetings with civil society organizations and press representatives. EFE