Torres Statement on New Security Agreement Between U.S. and Northern Triangle Countries
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres (D-CA) released the following statement after Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's announcement that the United States and the governments of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador had agreed to a series of security cooperation measures in the region:
"I am deeply concerned about the administration's misguided agreement, since any attempt to increase security assistance to Central America without a firm commitment to combatting corruption and strengthening institutions is doomed to fail. As long as the region's security forces are involved with drug trafficking and organized crime, simply providing more assistance and training is not going to produce the results we want. A well-armed and trained soldier who works for the drug cartels is still a soldier who works for the drug cartels. Far too many Central Americans have already suffered at the hands of corrupt and abusive security forces; they are demanding justice, not a blank check for soldiers and police.
"The new agreement is a reminder that the Department of Homeland Security has no business conducting foreign policy. It is long past time for the State Department to reassert its lead role on Central America policy. For starters, State urgently needs to name a qualified Ambassador for Honduras; make a decision about whether to issue the certifications for Fiscal Year 2018 Central America funds; and promptly release the overdue list of corrupt officials that Congress required through my amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act."
Torres is a member of the House Appropriations and Rules Committees. Earlier this month, she introduced the Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act to authorize travel and financial sanctions against Guatemalan officials who have engaged in corruption, obstructed justice, misused U.S.-provided equipment, disobeyed Guatemalan Constitutional Court rulings, and interfered with the work of the U.S. government. Last year, she introduced H.R. 5501, the End Corruption in the Northern Triangle Act. A portion of that bill requires the Secretary of State to send Congress a list of corrupt officials in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala; the list requirement was adopted as Section 1287 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which President Trump signed into law on August 13, 2018.
###