The dilemma facing the Biden administration on Central America also has huge implications for dealing with Mexico – unquestionably the US’s most crucial and complex relationship in Latin America. It is hard to see how “root causes” can be successfully addressed without engaging – in some way, at some point – with the region’s governments, however problematic these “partners” are. Still, balancing competing interests poses a major conundrum for the Biden administration. While the Trump administration turned a blind eye to Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele’s authoritarian tendencies and Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez’s connections to drug-trafficking, the Biden team has pursued a different tack by calling attention to these concerns. On Central America, there have been some encouraging signs consistent with the Biden administration’s touted “values-driven” approach that emphasizes democracy, human rights, and anti-corruption. The improving health of the US economy and the administration’s more humane approach – which has given migrants a mistaken sense of an easier entry – will increase pressures to go north. The devastating effects of natural disasters and the pandemic have only aggravated an already dire situation. The well-known and longstanding litany of severe problems facing the northern tier countries – fragile governance, dismal public services, widespread corruption, criminality, and joblessness – have worsened since Biden himself served as President Obama’s envoy to the region. A narrow, domestic-driven agenda could perpetuate the sense that the US is not a reliable ally and thwart efforts to renew partnerships that have frayed in recent years.īiden has enlisted Vice President Kamala Harris to lead an effort to attack the “root causes” in Central America that have propelled irregular migration. Deteriorating conditions in Central America have led to a surge in unaccompanied minors from the northern tier countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador now housed in extremely cramped facilities on the US’s southwestern border. Biden’s Latin American team has been consumed by the migration crisis.Īlthough demanding urgent attention, this single issue could produce a policy that would limit US engagement with a region reeling from the devastating effects of the pandemic. Despite the best intentions, and not for the first time, the new administration’s priorities in the region have been largely captured and dominated by an issue of significant domestic political salience.
So far, a clear focus and positive agenda have not emerged. Yet, on Biden’s Latin America policy the picture is muddier.
On foreign policy, a new approach is beginning to take shape. On the domestic front, activity has been frenetic, with a number of sweeping, bold initiatives aimed at getting the pandemic under control and reactivating the US economy. President Joe Biden is celebrating the first 100 days of his administration.