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Previewing Vice President Biden's Trip to Guatemala

March 2, 2015 at 9:30 AM ET by Juan Gonzalez
Summary: 
Continuing the Administration’s active engagement in Central America, the Vice President is traveling to Guatemala City to meet with the Presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank.

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Continuing the Administration’s active engagement in Central America, the Vice President is traveling to Guatemala City on Monday to meet with the Presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Last November in Washington D.C., the leaders of these countries rolled out their Alliance for Prosperity plan to tackle the endemic violence and poverty that have held the region back while the rest of the hemisphere has prospered. The Vice President also outlined how the United States, the international community, and the private sector could support the plan’s implementation. 

This week in Guatemala City, the presidents will update Vice President Biden on their progress. The presidents of the countries have already taken courageous steps to target criminal smuggling groups, root out corruption, and promote the transparency of their institutions.

As the Vice President has said, confronting the enormous challenges that face Central America requires nothing less than systemic change - a change that we, the United States, have a direct interest in helping our neighbors to bring about.

That’s why the President and Vice President requested from Congress $1 billion to help Central America’s leaders make the difficult reforms and investments required to address the region’s interlocking security, governance and economic challenges.   

The meetings on Monday and Tuesday are about what comes next. The Vice President and these four presidents will outline concrete goals to:

  • Stimulate the region’s economic growth;
  • Reduce inequality and promote educational opportunities;
  • Target criminal networks responsible for human trafficking; and
  • Create transparent, accountable institutions.

To learn more about the upcoming trip, watch this new video that explains the current situation and the next steps forward to ensure that our Central American neighbors become the next great success story in the Western Hemisphere.