How the US made the so-called 'safe third countries' unsafe

Despite Donald Trump's claims, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are everything but safe.

This year, US President and xenophobe-in-chief Donald Trump finagled "safe third country agreements" with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, allowing the United States to deport aspiring asylum seekers to the very region many of them are fleeing in the first place. 

Even Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele - the possessor of the enlightened opinion that "President Trump is very nice and cool, and I'm nice and cool, too ... we both use Twitter a lot" - recently admitted that his country needs to be "safer" and that its asylum capacities are currently nonexistent.

Indeed, the fact that the homicide rates in the three allegedly "safe third countries" are consistently among the highest in the world should be an easy indicator that they are anything but safe. Femicides abound.

Drowning in guns

The US's own role in fuelling violence in Central America's Northern Triangle has been well known for decades - from its habit of backing right-wing dictators and death squads to its continuing support for homicidal state security forces. In the aftermath of the US-facilitated coup in Honduras in 2009, that nation became more unsafe than ever. 

And across the region, the US-exported model of neoliberal oppression has constituted a form of violence in its own right - perpetuating extreme inequality and condemning the masses to often existence-imperilling economic misery. 

But one of the most crucial aspects to consider when contemplating US complicity in the appalling unsafety of the Northern Triangle is the sheer volume of US weapons circulating in the region.

In March, Foreign Policy reported that Trump was "sending guns south as migrants flee north", with his administration "push[ing] to weaken oversight of gun exports".

And yet the cross-border mobility of US armaments is nothing new. Back in 2014, Harry Penate - the former attache to Central America for the US Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives – spoke candidly about the significant role American guns were playing in the epidemic of violence in the region, which was already causing a northward exodus of refugees.

According to Penate's estimate at the time, half of the illegal weapons in murder-plagued El Salvador were from the US.

Flash forward to 2018, and the New Yorker's Jonathan Blitzer cited reports that 49 percent of illegal and unregistered weapons recovered in El Salvador came from the US; in Honduras, it was 46 percent, and in Guatemala 29. While the causes of Central American violence were manifold, Blitzer noted, "American firepower facilitates it."

Insecurity industry

Of course, the whole "legal" vs "illegal" distinction is problematic as well, since just because a gun is licensed, registered, and so forth does not mean everything is all fine and dandy. Just ask, inter alia, all the black Americans shot by US cops. 

Anyway, what does the US expect allowing a bazillion licensed US firearms dealers to operate smack on the US-Mexico border? Surely it never occurred to anyone that armaments might make their way not only into Mexico but also down to the suddenly-safe third countries.

Juan Jose Martinez d'Aubuisson - a Salvadoran anthropologist, author, and expert on the MS-13 gang (another of Trump's pet nemeses despite being none other than a creation of the US) - recently remarked to me that, although there is a prominent myth that the weapons circulating in this neck of Central America are left over from the region's civil wars, in reality, the violence is carried out predominantly by US-manufactured handguns and not military-grade weapons. 

"Many of these arms enter the country legally from the US and then cross over to the black market," he said. "Another point that shouldn't be overlooked is that lethal violence is frequently carried out with legal weapons purchased in authorised stores, by persons with official permission to carry arms."

So much for safety.

Another source of acute insecurity - not only in the Northern Triangle but also throughout Latin America - is, it turns out, private security.

In a 2018 report titled "Security for Sale", Sarah Kinosian and James Bosworth review the abuses that have been rendered possible by the burgeoning Private Military and Security Company (PMSC) industry - thanks to which private security guards vastly outnumber public officers in many countries. In tiny Honduras alone, there were no fewer than 1,038 registered private security companies as of 2017 - and plenty more unregistered ones. 

All for profit

The US, in typical privatisation-obsessed fashion, has contracted with PMSCs in various countries "to provide assistance to the public security forces", but the companies are perhaps better known for their services in protecting elite wealth, safeguarding the corporate exploitation of resources (including by repressing indigenous and environmental activists), and generally assisting in the proliferation of the neoliberal miracle.

In the Northern Triangle, in particular, the private security industry is a "major supplier of weapons for criminal groups", as imported arms are stolen, lost, or otherwise make their way to the black market. 

This becomes even more consequential when we consider that current and former military and police often work in private security, as well. In El Salvador, "active members of the military are allowed to work with or own private security firms". In Guatemala, meanwhile, "private security firms have been tied to extrajudicial killings".

In November 2018, the Miami Herald wrote about the Honduran military police's apparent use of US weapons to kill political protesters. The article quoted the US State Department on how "human rights concerns" were among the numerous factors taken into consideration when evaluating direct commercial sales of US weaponry to other countries. Also considered, the statement continued, was the "promotion of American industry". 

But in the end, profit always trumps human rights - and while the US arms industry is presumably feeling pretty secure right about now, it is safe to say many people in "safe third countries" are not.

Author: Belen Fernandez

Reference: Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/called-safe-countries-unsafe-191228125542912.html

Métis killers

One wonders, how is it possible that métis descendants of native mothers were capable of surpassing the crimes of their murderer white forebears? 

An illustrative example was observed in the massacre that some Salvadoran soldiers committed against women, children and elderly civilians in the El Mozote town in the province of Morazán.

El Mozote masacre in El Salvador

Los Quebrachos, El Salvador - Over the course of three days in December 1981, Salvadoran soldiers murdered nearly 1,000 women, children and elderly civilians in El Mozote and other towns in the northeastern province of Morazan in what has since become known as the most brutal massacre in Latin America in the 20th century. 

Survivors reported hearing the screams of women and children before they were gunned down. Soldiers then burned their houses and crops and killed their animals.

Thirty-eight years later, survivors and families of victims are still fighting for recognition, justice and promised reparations. But due to bureaucratic mazes, and a new administration in place, the compensation they have been promised has effectively stalled.

Sofia Romero, whose parents were killed in the massacre, is one of many waiting for reparations. In order to receive her payment, she must prove her parents died and that they were, in fact, her parents. She thought she had gathered all the paperwork necessary, only to find out she needed more documentation for her grandparents.

"There were so many books that were burned, so where would the records be?" said Romero, 57. It's a frustrating process for many who have already been traumatized by immense loss. "There are many people who give up," Romero said.

Romero returned to El Mozote in 2010 after decades of living in another Salvadoran city. She earns what she can selling tortillas and her sons send her money from Houston to help make ends meet. 

Maria Eugenia Argueta de Santiago, whose six-month-old sister was killed Maria Eugenia Argueta de Santiago, whose six-month-old sister was killed in the massacre, is the only one of her surviving siblings who has not given up yet. She has had similar problems as Romero. Argueta de Santiago first had to prove her sister was born, but did not have the original birth certificate. Her sister's remains have never been identified, presenting another challenge to proving her death. 

Still, Argueta de Santiago is determined to continue the process so she can eventually receive reparations. "It's a right that belongs to us," said Argueta de Santiago, 41. 

Justice, including reparations, becomes even more important with each passing year, as survivors - many now in their 70s and 80s - are fighting not just the government, but the clock. The oldest known survivor is 90 years old. Many survivors who were among the first to come forward with their testimonies have died without seeing justice or ever receiving a pennyAt 83 years old, Cesar Martinez is one of the oldest living survivors of the massacre. He now has a handful of health problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure. He wants the government to provide better healthcare to him and other aging survivors. There is a clinic in their community, but icloses on weekends, so they have to take a 20-minute bus ride to the nearest hospital. 

"We've been forgotten," Martinez said sitting outside his friend's house in their community in Morazan on a recent cloudy Thursday afternoon. They are surrounded by the mountains that once sheltered them from the massacre. 

Reparations ordered, promised, not fully delivered

The elite Atlacatl Battalion that carried out the 1981 murders was trained by the United States, which gave billions of dollars to El Salvador during the course of its civil war from 1980 to 1992. On the wall of one house, they wrote, "the Atlacatl Battalion will return to kill the rest," Martinez told The New York Times in 1982. Martinez fled but his parents, sister and sister's children were among the victims. Despite forensic evidence and victims' testimonies that show nearly half of the victims were under the age of 12, the Salvadoran military continues to maintain that the deaths were the result of fighting between troops and rebel forces. 

In 2012, the Inter-American Court for Human Rights issued a ruling requiring the Salvadoran state to investigate the crimes and compensate victims for their losses. But nearly four decades after the massacre, the process has effectively stalled due to bureaucratic obstacles, a  a political transition and empty promises from politicians. 

The UN also says reparations are an integral part of transitional justice to promote healing after state-sponsored crimes. 

Following the IACHR ruling, victims' demands for reparations became a concrete list of actions for the Salvadoran government. The president at the time, Mauricio Funes, agreed to comply and subsequent administrations have said the same.

Public projects would be carried out in El Mozote and surrounding towns to bring them better roads, access to water and electricity and improved health and education services. The state would help relocate the victims who wanted to return to their communities. Victims would receive medical and psychological treatment. And some would be paid a lump sum of money ranging from $10,000 to $35,000 depending on how closely they were affected by the violence. 

The government has followed through with part of this mandate. It has invested in schools, roads, and healthcare services. From 2013 to 2018, the Salvadoran government said that it had allocated $10m for reparations for the victims of El Mozote massacre. 

But victims say funds for development have been concentrated in the town of El Mozote and have not helped other surrounding towns that were also affected. Many victims are trudging through the bureaucratic process of approval to receive their payment. Human rights law firm Tutela Legal that represents the victims estimates that only 15 percent of the reparations ordered by the IACHR ruling have been carried out. 

"The problem is that many, many survivors don't have the documents that link them directly with the victim," said Ovidio Mauricio Gonzalez, a lawyer with Tutela Legal. 

The office of the president did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comments.

Broken promises

Until recently, a government office was helping victims with this process of compiling documentation and qualifying for reparations. After taking office earlier this year, President Nayib Bukele invited a group of victims to San Salvador to have lunch with him so he could hear their concerns. He promised to support the victims of the El Mozote massacre and carry out the IACHR ruling, according to multiple victims who attended the meeting.

But shortly after he took office, Bukele shut down the government office that attended victims as part of an internal reorganization of government institutions under the new administration. Since then, victims say they no longer have a direct contact there who can answer their questions. 

"He promised us," Martinez said. "But there is nothing."

For Martinez, reparations would mean quality medical care in his old age. For Romero, home improvements. For Argueta de Santiago, a new house and a college education for her kids. 

"We're waiting to see the resolve of this government and if he is going to continue with reparations," said Argueta de Santiago. "That's what we as victims always hope for and demand: that they follow through with what is written in the sentence."

Walking in their Shoes

People & Power follows two migrant caravans as they head through Mexico to the US border.

For well over a year, large groups of Central American migrants, travelling together for safety in "caravans", have been fleeing from persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Covering thousands of kilometres through Mexico, they've been heading to the US border in the hopes of getting across and gaining asylum - despite the many dangers and privations en route and warnings by US officials that anyone found entering the country illegally would face arrest, prosecution and deportation.

The largest traveling group, with over 7,000 people, got under way in Octobewr 2018, attracting enormous media attention and a furious response from American President Donald Trup, who labelled the caravan an invasion, dispatched troops to the border, reaffirmed his election pledge to build a "wall" on the border to keep migrants out, then announced (after Congress declined to pay for it despite a 35 day government shutdown), that he would declare a national emergency to get the funds.

This provoked a bitter constitutional confrontation with his opponents, which is still playing out and may yet end up in the US Supreme Court.

In the meantime, the October caravans arrived at Mexican border towns such as Tijuana, adding to the thousands of migrants waiting in often squalid, dangerous conditions in hopes of getting to the US.

They have since been joined by others who, notwithstanding the undimmed hostility of the Trump administration and the growing impatience of Mexico, have continued to follow in their footsteps. The crisis, if that is indeed the best way to describe the attempt by many thousands of desperate people to gain sanctuary, continues.

So who are these people and what are they escaping from? As some of the largest groups passed through Mexico at the end of 2018, reporter Eric Campbell travelled with them to find out.

He heard heart-breaking tales of teenagers running for their lives from gang violence, a mother hoping to get medical treatment for her daughter, young families escaping poverty and deprivation.

Even then, few of them were oblivious to the fierce rhetoric coming from the White House or the dangers of being trapped at the border or even being deported, but most seemed to be clinging onto the hope that somehow they'd find a way to a better life in the US.

Source: Al Jazeera

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador: fleeing from misery and violence

The "caravans", only available option for the poorest population of these three Central American countries.

In recent months (years) the formation of "caravans" of migrants from several Central American countries to the United States has become news in the media. The majority of these migrants come from three Central American countries, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

This is not a new phenomenon. For many decades, migrants from these three countries have emigrated to the United States, where they are important minorities. The last censuses have given a figure of 1,267,000 Guatemalan residents, 1,649,000 Salvadorans and 600,000 Hondurans living in the United States. The true figures are probably much higher, due to the existence of many undocumented people and immigrants arrived in recent months. It would not be risky to estimate the Guatemalans at 1.5 million, the Hondurans at 1 million and the Salvadorans at 2 million.

These states are relatively small and densely populated. In its 108,889 km2 Guatemala houses 17.5 million inhabitants with a population density of 161 inhabitants / km2. Honduras has 9,200,000 inhabitants in a territory of 12,492 km2. Its density is 82 / km2. El Salvador, which has the highest density, has 7,400,000 inhabitants in a small territory of 21,041 km2. The density is 352 inhabitants / km2.

In addition to their high density, these are countries that have seen their ecosystems deteriorated, with forests cut and heavily eroded soils due to the mountainous nature, and the  frequent strong volcanic activity and earthquakes. Being in a tropical region with coast in the Caribbean Sea, they are very vulnerable to strong hurricanes that periodically hit their coastal territories.

To this it should be added the presence of contaminated water in lakes, rivers and coastal environments, related to the indiscriminate use of water resources that are affected by predatory agriculture and uncontrolled mining.

In addition in the three countries the economy is based on monoculture crops, which are very vulnerable to international prices and pests.

Since education has traditionally been postponed by successive governments, a large part of the population does not have qualifications that may allow them to enter a labor market with scarce job opportunities.

These countries have very constrasting social differentiation among their populations. This comes from the time of the colony and has continued with successive oligarchic governments, often military, who have ignored the situation of extreme poverty in which many people live in their respective countries.

In recent decades, urbanization has increased and poor neighborhoods were established in the main cities, with the growth of violence and the formation of criminal gangs (the "maras").

Both the absence of job opportunities and the lack of basic services and insecurity have encouraged several tens of thousands of people to emigrate to the United States where there is already a large Central American population.

In times past, the migration was individual, generally crossing Mexico (country that they had and must cross to reach their destination) by various means (especially by train, a famous railway nicknamed "the beast").

These individual migrations subjected migrants to situations of great insecurity, robberies, robberies, rapes. For this reason, in recent months the migrants decided to migrate together in large groups of people who are called "caravans".

 The Honduran and Salvadoran caravans must travel Guatemalan and Mexican territory to reach the US. Guatemalans only need to cross the 2,000 km of Mexico to the border with the US.

Anyway, 2,000 km is a very long distance to travel on foot or using local transport, generally depending on the goodwill of the drivers. It is worth noting that the Mexican people have been extremely hospitaliaries with the migrants. For a long time, until 2009, it was Mexicans who emigrated, now, at a time when the migratory balance towards the US favors Mexico, Mexicans have been helping migrants from neighboring countries, even offering the possibility that they could stay to live in the Mexican Republic.

However, the migration from Central America to the US will not stop while the deep causes that generate them subsist; poverty, inequality, exploitation and its natural derivative, violence.

Danilo Antón

Mexican hospitality: the Southern brothers

A migrant boy, part of a caravan of thousands traveling from Central America en route to the United States, walks through a makeshift camp in Mexico City [Hannah McKay/Reuters]

Mexico City - Jairo Mauricio Ramirez did not have to say many goodbyes in Honduras. A 16-year-old orphan, he joined thousands of US-bound migrants and refugees last month when they came through Ocotepeque, his hometown.

Ramirez hopes to make it to the United States to find work and continue his schooling beyond the Grade 7 level he was able to complete. He would like to be a doctor or an engineer.

"I always liked studying, but I could not afford to continue," Ramirez told Al Jazeera.

When Ramirez was eight years old, his father died in an accident. When he was 12, his mother died of a heart attack. He has no siblings.

Ramirez lived with an uncle, but his uncle left Honduras a few months ago to migrate to the US. Ramirez has not heard from him since. He had a job at a local hardware store for a while, but was let go.

"There is no work these days," he said.

When Al Jazeera spoke with Ramirez, he was waiting in line for a donated blanket to stay warm during the cold Mexico City nights. He and several thousand other Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty were staying in a stadium that had been transformed into a makeshift refugee camp.

Jairo Mauricio Ramirez, a 16-year-old Honduran orphan, waits in line for a blanket at the Mexico City stadium migrant and refugee camp [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera]

Managed by the Mexico City government and the city human rights commission, the camp was abuzz with activity all week, as groups large and small trickled into the capital city.

Migrants and refugees rested in the stadium bleachers, large tents in the field, and grassy areas outside the stadium. Others received medical attention, watched their kids being entertained by clowns, or waited in line for food, clothing and blankets. Little cheering circles formed around impromptu dance and song performances here and there on the sports complex grounds.

An estimated 5,000 Central Americans stayed at the stadium this week, and thousands more are slowly making their way up through southern Mexicoin subsequent caravans from Honduras and El Salvador. Preparations for more caravans are in the works. Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, and other Latin Americans have also joined the various waves of the ongoing exodus.

Ramirez made it through the first 1,650km through Guatemala and up to Mexico City. Like most of the thousands of migrants and refugees, he wants to make it through the next 2,700km to theUS border.

At an assembly on Thursday evening, the migrants and refugees voted to choose a route to the Tijuana border crossing. It is more than 1,000km further away than the closest points of entry to the US, but it is a safer route. It avoids parts of northeastern Mexico with high rates of homicides and forced disappearances, including that of migrants and refugees.

Central American migrants taking part in a caravan towards the US, watch a film as they rest during a stop in the journey at a shelter, set up at the Sports City in Mexico City [Alfredo Estrella/AFP]

The assembly chose to depart at 5am local time (11:00 GMT) on Friday, but plans changed overnight and the majority of migrants and refugees at the stadium chose to stay in the hopes of obtaining bus transport to the border.

Many people chose not to wait, however, and hundreds of people set out towards Queretaro on Friday morning, along the route to Tijuana. The remaining thousands plan to leave before dawn on Saturday, migrant and refugee caravan spokespeople said at a press conference on Friday.

Sandra Cuffe

From. Aljazeera.com