RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, confirmed on Monday, June 7, while in Guatemala, the creation of a regional Anti-Corruption Task Force, supported by the U.S. Departments of State, Justice, and Treasury and will support prosecutors in Central America.
In a joint statement by Harris with the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, at the National Palace of Culture (Government Office), the US official assured that the Anti-Corruption Task Force would be able to “support Guatemalan prosecutors” to follow “the money trail”, since “corruption knows no borders.”
Harris did not provide further information on the regional anti-corruption entity, which had already been announced in March by Juan Gonzalez, special advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden.
The official added that, from what she has spoken with President Biden, the administration’s position is “unequivocal on the issue of corruption”, and emphasized that the United States wants to “nip it in the bud because we know that it is not good for a democracy,”
Harris’ remarks came as part of a 24-hour visit to Guatemala between Sunday and Monday in search of solutions to irregular corruption, which is on the rise. Guatemala is one of the seven most corrupt countries in the American continent, according to international organizations.
The Vice President met with Giammattei on Monday for more than two hours at the National Palace, where they signed three substantial agreements: the creation of the Anti-Corruption Task Force, the fight against drug and human smuggling, and the investment for prosperity, with the support of Guatemalan girls and women.
The Task Force announced months ago by the U.S. Government will support “prosecutions for those who dare to carry out corrupt activities” and will help businessmen who want to invest in the Central American country to be sure “if their valuable resources will reach their final destination, that they do not fall into corrupt hands.”
Questioned by the international press on whether Giammattei himself is part of the corruption denounced by civil society, the President of Guatemala said that “social networks carry disinformation rather than information” and specified that he had been accused of “zero” cases.
Giammattei thanked the support of the Task Force and said that Guatemala is in “a frank fight against corruption”, a scourge that he defined as “a multidimensional act because it involves some people who get money from abroad and come to do illicit things here. You don’t know who is in charge and what they are doing.”
Harris concluded that the conversation with Giammattei about corruption was “very frank and open”. It is a quality “that I admire in him, and he admires in me,” because “we don’t have time to beat around the bush about our concerns,” she added.
After the press event, the U.S. Vice President left to meet with community leaders and business people at a private university in the east of Guatemala City.
She will conclude her stay in Guatemala in the late afternoon and then travel to Mexico to continue her first official tour outside the United States.