US Vice President Kamala Harris in Guatemala

GUATEMALA: JUNE 7 – US Vice President Kamala Harris has arrived in Guatemala on her first foreign trip as vice president. She will leave for Mexico after visiting Guatemala.

The vice president is scheduled to visit the two countries as a special envoy of US President Joe Biden. Vice President Harris will announce measures to control cross-border smuggling in particular. She will also make public her views on anti-corruption measures.

President Biden has given Vice President Harris a special responsibility to identify the root causes of immigration along the US-Mexico border and take steps to address them. According to the vice president’s advisory team, Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei will meet on Monday and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday to discuss anti-corruption measures.

Special Envoy Ricardo Zuniga expressed concern that corruption accounts for a large share of GDP in Central American nations. He says the United States attaches great importance to controlling corruption.

Vice President Harris arrived in Guatemala City late night on Sunday. She was welcomed by Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo.

Harris called on Guatemala and Mexico to commit to greater co-operation in border security and economic investment. During the visit, she will also discuss the provision of vaccine against COVID-19. The United States has announced that it will provide Guatemala 500,000 doses and Mexico 1,000,000 doses of vaccines.

Human migration from the Central American nations of Honduras and El Salvador has also created tension along the US border.