One of the most violent nations in the world credited the United States with helping improve security and cut homicides by 50 percent this year.
The president of El Salvador, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, shared the progress with Vice President Joe Biden at a Sept. 23 security and migration forum with the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala at the Inter-American Development Bank.
Sanchez touted the work his country has done on economic growth and education as well as targeting financial networks of transnational criminal organizations.
“Operation Jaque resulted in the July arrest of 78 individuals and the seizure of real estate properties, 178 vehicles and over 600 bank accounts,” Sanchez said as part of a joint statements of the presidents released by the White House.
Facing a surge of migrants fleeing the region, the Obama administration has pledged to work with the three nations to fight violence and strengthen their judicial systems. The Obama administration has worked with Congress to secure $750 million for economic development and fighting poverty and violence. The money has been used as part of a variety of programs to try to lower the violence and boost economic opportunities.
The president of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, said his government has adopted new methods to combat tax evasion and dismantle criminal organizations. In Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernandez said his government continues to build the National Police force that is combating human trafficking and smuggling organizations.
El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are three of the most violent nations in the world. Each is in the top 10 for homicide rates, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Recently released U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show Border Patrol agents will apprehend more family members entering the United States along the Southwest border this fiscal year than they did in 2014, when a massive surge of Central Americans found the Obama administration detaining thousands of mothers and their children.
This year, with one month left in the fiscal year, more than 68,080 family members have been apprehended compared to 68,445 family members in 2014. But with apprehensions averaging 6,189 a month, the annual total is certain to be a record. No month this year has seen fewer than 3,000 family members detained. In August, Border Patrol agents apprehended 9,359 family members, the highest yet of the year.
Advocates have credited the work being done in Central America but criticized the Obama administration as not doing enough in the United States. The administration has launched several refugee programs, but advocates say those efforts are small in comparison with enforcement measures the administration has taken against Central American migrants.
Last year, 32 percent of U.S. deportations were to the region, including 33,000 people deported to Guatemala, 21,000 to El Salvador and 20,000 to Honduras.
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez.