For many Hondurans, the current scene is all too familiar: it is a possible repeat of the turmoil surrounding the 2009 coup d’état, and a tragic continuation of a progressive loss of credibility in its electoral institutions.
On January 25, 2018 the Inter-American Dialogue’s Migration, Remittances & Development Program hosted “Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017,” an annual event presenting remittance flows to the region.
Sending back 200,000 Salvadorans to an already strained region flies in the face of the objectives of the Alliance for Prosperity, and is a surefire way to worsen the social ills that lie at the root of the massive exodus to the United States. A chaotic Central America is a story with no winners except criminal syndicates.
The rapid rise of the private security industry is an inevitable byproduct of high levels of crime and violence in the region, and brings a new set of challenges to citizen security in Latin America.
On March 27, the Inter-American Dialogue in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. hosted an event titled “The Explosive Growth of Private Security in Latin America.” This discussion, moderated by Michael Camilleri from the Dialogue, featured panelists Claudia Paz y Paz from the Organization of American States, Eric Tardif from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Adam Blackwell from the Development Services Group. This discussion drew from a report recently published by the Dialogue titled, “Security for Sale: Challenges and Good Practices in Regulating Private Military and Security Companies in Latin America,” co-authored by Sarah Kinosian and James Bosworth.
Though migration has continued, it has done so at a declining rate. In fact, overall growth in the migrant population in the United States has been offset by large numbers of deportations. This memo analyzes recent trends in Central American migration, starting with a brief historical context and moving on to current developments. It considers geographical divisions, reasons for migrating, and growth in the overall migrant population. It also addresses why the numbers of apprehensions are different from the numbers of people migrating. Finally, it considers implications of these current trends for Central American countries.
Se multiplican las voces de indignación por la política inmigratoria de “cero tolerancia” que separa a miles de niños centroamericanos de sus familias en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos. Manuel Orozco, director del programa de Migración, Remesas y Desarrollo del Diálogo Interamericano ofrece su opinión a esta crítica situación que se vive hoy en día.
Vice President Mike Pence and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen are visiting Guatemala to meet with its president along with leaders of El Salvador and Honduras. Most of the migrant families apprehended lately at the U.S.-Mexico border have come from these countries. For some insight on this meeting, Michael Shifter was interviewed by NPR.
On June 27, the Inter-American Dialogue partnered with the Due Process of Law Foundation and the Washington Office on Latin America to hold an expert discussion on “Corruption and Human Rights in the Northern Triangle.” The conversation gave insight as to how anti-corruption efforts in the Northern Triangle can benefit from the inclusion of human rights discourse and the work of international bodies, such as the CICIG in Guatemala and MACCIH in Honduras.
On June 29, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted an event titled “Immigrant Families: Separation, Reunification, and Legal Challenges.” The conversation analyzed Trump administration’s May 2018 “zero tolerance policy.”