Kamala Harris vows to help Guatemala stop emigration in meeting with President Giammattei

Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday in a virtual meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei that the United States plans to increase its aid through funds and programs for the countries of the northern triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) and that it will "strengthen cooperation" to handle increased migration.

The meeting between Harris and Giammattei comes within the framework of the record arrival of immigrants to the southwestern border of the United States and after the president, Joe Biden, tasked the vice president last month to tackle the causes of emigration in the region .

Harris also plans to meet with civil society organizations in Guatemala on Tuesday

, as well as with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador next month, before visiting that country and Guatemala in June.

The vice president, Kamala Harris, in a virtual meeting with Alejandro Giammattei, president of Guatemala;

at the White House, April 26, 2021. AP

The new position has offered Harris a high-profile challenge and sparked increased criticism from Republicans, who

have questioned why neither she nor the president have traveled to the border to review the situation there

.

The Border Patrol detained a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, nearly 19,000, and the influx of migrants has put pressure on federal departments tasked with detaining, housing and processing those migrants.

So far,

Harris has spoken by phone with both Giammattei and López Obrador

and has met virtually with various experts and migrant advocates in the region.

Harris spoke on Monday about what he described as the "acute causes" of the surge in migration: the hurricanes that hit the region last fall, a persistent drought and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the lack of economic opportunities in the region, extreme weather conditions and government corruption.

“We want to work with you to address both acute and root causes, in a way that gives hope to the people of Guatemala that there will be an opportunity for them if they stay home,” Harris said.

Migrant children face hunger, crime and even death on their way to the United States.

April 23, 202101: 57

The vice president promised that the United States will increase the aid it sends to the countries of the region and that there will be

greater cooperation to

"manage migration in an efficient, safe and humane way

.

"

The meeting between Harris and Giammattei occurred on the same day that the Biden administration announced sanctions against a Guatemalan official and a former official for corruption.

In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that "these sanctions support the efforts of the Guatemalan people to end the scourge of corruption, as part of the commitment of the United States Government to support improvements in governance in Guatemala. ".

However,

neither Harris nor President Giammattei made reference to the sanctions in their opening remarks

.

[One in 15 migrants in ICE centers has been infected with coronavirus]

Giammattei told Harris that his government would like to be a "partner" of the United States to address "not only poverty, but so many evils that affect us."

The Guatemalan president proposed creating a "road map" between the two governments for their next meeting in June "to guarantee peace, progress and development, and also so that we can ensure the cooperation we need from you."

With information from The Associated Press

.