[EnglishArticle]What a busy February it’s been for U.S.-Latin American relations. It started with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s five-country visit earlier this month, was followed by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s stop in Honduras and Guatemala, and closed with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon’s swing through Ecuador, Colombia and Chile. The Trump administration’s attention toward the Western Hemisphere peaked this past month.
The subtle diplomatic attention out of Foggy Bottom, though, doesn’t square with the messages coming out of the White House regarding the region.
President Trump’s calls to stop foreign aid countries he deems not sufficiently successful in combatting narcotics, the ongoing misrepresentation of immigrants and efforts to dramatically scale back immigration, and his recent telephone spat with President Enrique Peña Nieto, which led the Mexican president to cancel his trip to Washington (again), are at odds with the State Department’s outreach to the region.
Right after the conclusion of the sixth round of NAFTA negotiation talks, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson embarked on a six-day trip from February 1 to 7 to Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica. The purpose of the trip was ostensibly to build on U.S.-Latin American economic relations, promote more regional cooperation on Venezuela, assist Colombia in the growing refugee crisis, curb endemic corruption, and fight drug production. It’s a long list; more generally the trip’s purpose was to reset relations with Latin America. All of those issues reflect decades of bipartisan policies toward the region, but ones that often times aren’t reflected in Trump’s rhetoric.
Because meanwhile, back in Washington Trump tweeted fiercely on the need for a merit-based immigration system to end chain migration and visa-lottery programs that “hurt the economy and national security.” The family-oriented migration system (referred to derisively as chain migration) benefits Latin Americans who already have family members in the U.S. and Trump’s insinuation that it threatens U.S. security underscored the administration’s misinformation about immigrants and crime.
That same week, at the Customs and Border Protection roundtable, President Trump urged Latin American countries to upgrade their anti-narcotics efforts. While avoiding naming specific countries, Trump mentioned how the U.S. sent “massive aid while they [countries] pour drugs into our countries and laugh at us.” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos used the platform of Tillerson’s visit to answer Trump’s remarks. “Colombia is not laughing at the U.S.” With Tillerson by his side, Santos reminded the Secretary that Colombia has paid one of the greatest costs of the U.S.’s war on drugs and repeated his country’s commitment to continue working with the Trump administration.
Secretary Tillerson’s trip did serve to create the foundation to continue much-needed dialogue on critical economic, development and security issues (especially in Mexico and Central America), strengthen ties with Argentina and embrace continued anti-drug cooperation with Colombia. Secretary Tillerson’s stop in Jamaica also served to turn some attention toward the Caribbean.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, also got involved on coordinating U.S. policy toward the U.N. with its partners in the hemisphere during her three-day trip to Honduras and Guatemala. The visit’s purpose was two-fold: first, to discuss strategies to fight corruption and reduce drug flows into the United States; second, as a thank you gesture to the only two countries in the Americas that voted no “to reject the U.N. resolution condemning the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
In Honduras, Haley’s agenda included meetings with the recently re-elected President Juan Orlando Hernández. In Guatemala, the ambassador met President Jimmy Morales, Attorney General Thelma Aldana and CICIG’s chief Iván Velásquez, as well as leaders from civil society and members of communities affected by drug and human trafficking.
President Trump recently called, once again, to stop U.S. aid for El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico until the countries agreed to cooperate on combatting narcotics trafficking. But Ambassador Haley’s visit reinforced the U.S.’s multifaceted diplomatic agenda and interests in the region beyond a binary test on how they are performing either on their votes in the U.N. on matters related to Israel and their perceived performance on anti-narcotics.
Finally, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon headed to Ecuador, Colombia and Chile for a six-day trip that ends March 3. Shannon is set to meet each countries’ head of state to deepen discussions on bilateral agreements, security and the battle against drug trafficking.
Shannon’s trip coincides with the seventh round of NAFTA negotiations, which take place this week in Mexico City. However, while Shannon and NAFTA negotiators strive to reaffirm U.S. engagement to promote a safe, prosperous and democratic hemisphere, events back home again impeded the broader message. After a “sulky” call between President Trump and President Enrique Peña Nieto, a potential visit by the Mexican head of state originally programmed for March was suspended. This is the second visit to be called off in the last year.
With a hectic regional electoral calendar and a series of scheduled regional forums meant to deepen cooperation on economic matters and democracy—the April Summit of the Americas in Peru, the G7 Summit in Canada in June and the G20 Summit in Argentina in October—the importance of maintaining healthy relations between the U.S. and Latin America has seldom been more clear. Both Tillerson and Haley have even named 2018 “The Year of the Americas”.
The question, then, is how long, how capable and how willing are these actors (on either side of the Río Grande) to sustain these diplomatic efforts as Trump continues to insult Latin American citizens, rail against NAFTA and mock governments’ commitment to battling narcotics? A good test will be reaching a successful renegotiated NAFTA by mid-year and a Trump appearance at the Summit of the Americas.
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Con tres visitas de altos funcionarios del gobierno de EE. UU., febrero fue el mes más activo para América Latina en lo que va de la administración Trump.
Tras concluir la sexta ronda de negociaciones del TLCAN, el Secretario de Estado Rex Tillerson se embarcó a principios de mes en un viaje de seis días con destino a México, Argentina, Perú, Colombia y Jamaica. ¿El propósito? Restablecer las relaciones con América Latina, que décadas de políticas bipartidistas y bilaterales han construido con mucho esfuerzo, y que lastimosamente no se reflejan en la retórica de Trump.
Las demandas del presidente Trump de condicionar ayuda externa hacia países que considera no suficientemente comprometidos con la lucha contra las drogas, los esfuerzos para reducir drásticamente la migración, y su reciente disputa telefónica con el Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto, que llevó a la suspensión del viaje a Washington (nuevamente), contradice el compromiso que muestra el Departamento de Estado hacia la región.
La embajadora de los Estados Unidos ante las Naciones Unidas, Nikki Haley, también participa activamente en la coordinación de la política exterior de EE. UU. con socios en el hemisferio. Muestra de ello es el reciente viaje de tres días a Honduras y Guatemala para discutir estrategias para combatir la corrupción y reducir el flujo de drogas hacia los Estados Unidos. La embajadora aprovechó el viaje también para agradecer a sus aliados el respaldo recibido en la resolución que condenaba la decisión de Estados Unidos de reconocer a Jerusalén como la capital de Israel.
Sin embargo, una vez más el Presidente Trump se pronunció a favor de condicionar ayuda de Estados Unidos dirigida a El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala y México hasta que los países no asuman un compromiso mayor en la lucha contra el narcotráfico.
Finalmente, el Subsecretario de Estado para Asuntos Políticos Thomas A. Shannon se dirigió a Ecuador, Colombia y Chile para un viaje de seis días que finaliza el 3 de marzo. La agenda de Shannon contempla reuniones con los jefes de estado de cada país para profundizar las discusiones sobre acuerdos bilaterales, seguridad y la batalla contra el narcotráfico.
El viaje de Shannon coincide también con la séptima ronda de negociaciones del TLCAN que se lleva a cabo en la Ciudad de México esta misma semana. Pero mientras Shannon y los negociadores del TLCAN se esfuerzan por generar condiciones para mantener un hemisferio seguro, próspero y democrático, la suspensión del posible viaje de Peña Nieto a Washington y el anuncio de Trump de imponer tarifas a la importación de acero y aluminio ensombrecen los esfuerzos.
Con un calendario electoral regional agitado y una serie de foros programados para profundizar la cooperación en asuntos de economía, democracia y corrupción–la Cumbre de las Américas de abril en Perú, la Cumbre del G7 en Canadá en junio y la Cumbre del G-20 en Argentina en octubre–la importancia de mantener relaciones sanas entre los Estados Unidos y América Latina rara vez ha sido más clara y urgente. Tanto Tillerson como Haley incluso han nombrado al 2018 como “El año de las Américas”.
La pregunta entonces es: ¿Por cuanto tiempo mas podrán los funcionarios en ambos lados del río prolongar la buena voluntad y los esfuerzos diplomáticos mientras Trump insulta a los ciudadanos latinoamericanos, critica al TLCAN y se burla del compromiso de los gobiernos para luchar contra el narcotráfico?
Una buena recompensa al esfuerzo será lograr concluir un TLCAN renegociado para mediados de año o incluso la presencia y participación de Trump en la Cumbre de las Américas. Veremos.
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