Kamala Harris, whom Biden commissioned to deal with the migration crisis that is hitting the region, focuses her strategy on generating job opportunities.
US Vice President Kamala Harris will announce new $1.9 billion in private investment commitments for northern Central America to create jobs and stem rising migration, a government official said Tuesday. “These are new investments by about ten companies,” including the textile giant GAP, the telecommunications company Millicom or the financial multinational Visa, and they are destined for Honduras , Guatemala and El Salvador, the official explained in a teleconference.
The announcement will be made during the Summit of the Americas taking place this week in Los Angeles, where the regional migration crisis is a key issue on the agenda.
Kamala Harris will hold meetings with women entrepreneurs, businessmen and civil society.
The plan will be disclosed despite the fact that the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala do not participate in this continental meeting, due to political differences. Meanwhile, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has not yet announced if he will travel.
Since the beginning of the Joe Biden government in 2021, the private capital investment promises managed by his administration in the so-called northern triangle of Central America total 3.2 billion dollars, after a “call to action” by Harris to the business sector to form part of your plan.
“These investments” create “direct jobs in areas that help people prosper and be economically successful. The vice president felt that we needed to make a job offer that addresses the full spectrum of needs and supports people in different facets of their lives,” added the government representative.
Kamala Harris , who was commissioned by President Biden to deal with the migration crisis that is hitting the region, focuses her strategy on generating job opportunities to prevent citizens of Central America from leaving their homes in search of work.
As explained by the White House official, these ten new firms are added to another 30 that are already investing in this part of Central America.
The summit starts at a time when the United States keeps its land border closed to migrants without visas under a health restriction due to a pandemic.
Migratory pressure in search of asylum or an opportunity to enter, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, is concentrated along the southern border with Mexico.
On Monday, a caravan with thousands of migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Honduras and Nicaragua left Tapachula, in southern Mexico, with the intention of traveling more than 3,000 km on foot to reach the United States.
“The focus” of Harris’ strategy “is to address endemic problems” in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, “such as poverty, corruption and gender violence, which are the causes of migration.”