LatinNews Daily - 10 June 2024

El Salvador: From 31 May-1 June a high-level delegation of senior US White House and State Department officials, led by US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, travelled to San Salvador to attend the inauguration of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele who won a second five-year term in February. The six-member delegation also included US Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago, and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols. The visit appears to reflect a softening in the stance of the US administration of President Joe Biden towards Bukele, whose authoritarianism has previously caused concern, likely in light of progress with migration issues. According to a statement on the visit by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), discussions between Mayorkas and Bukele were focused on “enhancing the rule of law to ensure sustainable security for Salvadoreans, strengthening enforcement actions against narcotics trafficking, and advancing effective migration management.” Mayorkas congratulated Bukele via social media on his inauguration, stating that “the US stands ready to build on our partnership with El Salvador to foster economic growth and cooperate on regional migration and security”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also congratulated Bukele via a press statement, saying that, “we stand ready to deepen our ties with El Salvador and work together under the [Biden] administration’s Root Causes Strategy [in reference to the US strategy of tackling the root causes of migration] on good governance, citizen security with due process, inclusive economic prosperity, and human rights.”

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