Five of Salvadoran president's allies accused of corruption: US
The US State Department lists several politicians and officials in Guatamela, Honduras and El Salvador ‘credibly alleged’ to be corrupt.
Allies of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, including his Cabinet chief, have been included in a list of senior officials in Central America deemed corrupt by the US State Department [File: Jose Cabezas/Reuters]
18 May 2021
A US State Department report on Central American officials “credibly alleged” to be corrupt includes five Salvadoran officials (PDF) with ties to President Nayib Bukele, six sitting Honduran lawmakers and two Guatemalan legislators, according to a list released (PDF) by the office of US Representative Norma Torres on Tuesday.
The list emerged less than a week after the US special envoy for Central America, Ricardo Zuniga, visited El Salvador and met Bukele amid a push from the administration of US President Joe Biden to confront corruption and bolster the rule of law in the region.
The US has made strengthening democracy one of the pillars of its policy towards Central America, saying that rampant corruption is one of the root causes of illegal immigration.
“We caMnnot expect the people of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to thrive at home while their elected officials are more focused on self-enrichment than serving the public,” Torres, a California Democrat who chairs the Central America Caucus, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Moe:
More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/18/five-of-salvadoran-presidents-allies-accused-of-corruption-us
