By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) â Allies of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, including his Cabinet chief, have been included in a list of senior officials in Central America deemed corrupt by the U.S. State Department, according to a copy of a report obtained by The Associated Press.
The emergence of the list of purportedly five corrupt officials is likely to heighten tensions with Bukele, who is facing intense pressure from the Biden administration over the removal of several Supreme Court justices and El Salvadorâs attorney general. The U.S. has made strengthening democracy one of the pillars of its policy toward Central America, saying that rampant corruption is one of the root causes of illegal immigration.
The U.S. State Department lists several politicians and officials in Guatamela, Honduras, and El Salvador as “alleged” corrupt.
US Department of State report on Central American officials considered “credible” rotten includes Five officials of El Salvador (PDF) He says he is linked to President Nayib Bukele, six Honduran lawmakers and two Guatemalan lawmakers released list (PDF) The offices of U.S. Representative Norma Torres on Tuesday.
The list came less than a week after Ricardo Zuniga visited the US Central American special envoy The Savior and met Bukele in the midst of a push by U.S. President Joe Biden to fight corruption and strengthen the rule of law in the region.
Five of Salvadorean president’s allies are corrupt, US says
AP, MIAMI
Allies of Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele, including his Cabinet chief, have been included in a list of senior officials in Central America deemed corrupt by the US Department of State, according to a copy of a report obtained by The Associated Press.
The emergence of the list of purportedly five corrupt officials is likely to heighten tensions with Bukele, who is facing intense pressure from Washington over the removal of several Supreme Court justices and the attorney general.
The US has made strengthening democracy one of the pillars of its policy toward Central America, saying that rampant corruption is one of the root causes of illegal immigration.