Central America: On 20 July US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken announced the release of the Section 353 Corrupt and Undemocratic Actors list, which identifies a further 60 individuals in Central America – 15 Hondurans, six Salvadoreans, 23 Nicaraguans and 16 Guatemalans. According to the US State Department, these individuals, who will have any US visas revoked and will be unable to enter the US, “
through their significant corruption, efforts to obstruct investigations into corruption, and undermining of democratic processes and institutions, weaken the ability of governments in the region to respond to the needs of their citizens, contributing to irregular migration and destabilizing societies”. The so-called ‘Engel’ list was
first unveiled a year ago in line with the emphasis by the US administration led by President
Joe Biden, on tackling corruption as part of its US$4bn comprehensive development plan for Central America. The latest additions to the list include key allies of the incumbent leaders of the Central American countries. Examples include in Honduras, current vice presidents of congress
Rasel Tomé and
Edgardo Casaña, both members of President
Xiomara Castro’s Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) and in El Salvador
Christian Guevara, bench leader of President
Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas (NI), his press secretary,
José Ernesto Sanabria, and his legal advisor
Francisco Javier Argueta Gómez.
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