U.S. announces US$1.9 billion in private investment for Central America’s northern triangle

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will announce US$1.9 billion in new private investment commitments for North Central America to create jobs and stem rising migration, a government official said Tuesday.

“These are new investments from about 10 companies, including textile giant GAP, telecommunications company Millicom and multinational financial firm Visa, earmarked for Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador,” the official said in a conference call.

The announcement comes as the Summit of the Americas is taking place this week in Los Angeles, where the regional migration crisis is a key topic on the agenda.

Harris will hold talks with women entrepreneurs, businesswomen, and civil society.

The plan is being made public, although the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala will not attend the continental meeting due to political differences. Meanwhile, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has not yet announced whether he will travel.

Since the beginning of Joe Biden’s term in 2021, commitments for private investment managed by his administration in the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America totaled US$3.2 billion after Harris called on the business sector to participate in his plan.

These “investments” create “direct jobs (…) in areas that help people prosper and achieve economic success. The vice president believed that “we need to make a job offer that covers the full spectrum of needs and helps people in different areas of their lives,” the administration official added.

Harris, who was tasked by President Biden with addressing the migration crisis in the region, is focusing her strategy on creating employment opportunities to prevent Central Americans from leaving their homes in search of work.

According to the White House official, these 10 new companies are in addition to the 30 others already investing in this part of Central America.

The summit comes at a time when the United States is keeping its land borders closed to migrants without visas as part of a pandemic restriction.

Pressure from migrants seeking asylum or entry, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, is concentrated along the southern border with Mexico.

On Monday, a caravan of thousands of migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Honduras, and Nicaragua set off from Tapachula in southern Mexico to cross 3,000 kilometers into the United States.

“The focus” of Harris’ strategy is “solving endemic problems” in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, such as “poverty, corruption and gender-based violence that are root causes of migration.