Central American turmoil fuels many illegal US border crossings

United States security is generally tied to the actions of countries like North Korea and Syria. But the American people also have a direct stake in what happens in Central America’s Northern Triangle — Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Being some of our closest neighbors, their fate and prosperity bear immediate repercussions on U.S. interests, from unauthorized migration to the transit of illegal drugs. 

The good news is that hope exists for a brighter future. The leaders of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have each taken steps that reflect a desire for change. Honduras is cleaning up its police, El Salvador has hired new prosecutors and Guatemala has exposed deep-seated corruption. Through the Alliance for Prosperity, the three countries are now working together to tackle problems that span national borders, with more than 80 percent of the funding coming from local sources. 

{mosads}But a vicious cycle of lost opportunity and violence continues. Perhaps one reason why nearly eight in 10 respondents to an Atlantic Council-commissioned poll in the region would like another country to send experts to assist the local police. Institutions suffer from a lack of confidence. The military has the most credibility, but it only registers a trust level of roughly 20 percent trust in El Salvador and 30 percent in Honduras. 

The challenges faced in these three countries eventually make their way to the United States. That is why a new, long-term strategy is needed to make the region and the United States safer. The United States has already put a down payment on its investment in the region through a number of efforts over the years, including $750 million for the Alliance for Prosperity. 

The region is at a crossroads, and conditions are ripe for change. If we, along with the three countries, take decisive and comprehensive action now, the prospects look bright. If we don’t, we’ll soon see just how much worse things can get.

To create a blueprint for action, we convened a task force of political, business and civil society leaders from the Northern Triangle and the U.S. The findings offer a roadmap of how to make Central America a foreign policy win for the United States. With the situation approaching a tipping point, now is the time for Congress to get behind a multiyear plan that addresses the short- and long-term solutions needed.

With the three countries now showing a renewed political will to take crucial steps, we must seize the opportunity and help lay the groundwork for change. Our approach should be three-pronged, focusing on sustainable economic development, strengthening the rule of law and improving security. 

A lack of economic opportunity in the Northern Triangle carries implications beyond financial stability. Unemployment is the main lifeline of organized crime. No amount of heavy-handed policing will eradicate gangs as long as the jobless youth keeps seeing them as the only way out. 

To jumpstart economic development, we should focus resources on industries showing the greatest potential for growth, like agriculture and telecommunications, and toward cities along major transport routes as well as hotspots for child migration.

But investment alone won’t produce any meaningful development without strong institutions. Strengthening the rule of law is a priority for Northern Triangle residents — nearly 90 percent of respondents told us there is “a lot” of corruption in their country. But only recently have governments started to follow suit.

New, trailblazing anti-corruption bodies have already unseated a president in Guatemala and produced a strict campaign finance law in Honduras. This momentum would be unthinkable just a few years ago, and it’s in our best interest to keep it going.

United States’ legal advisors can help clear the backlog of cases in the Northern Triangle’s overburdened justice systems. We should push our three partners to digitize financial transactions and make them publicly available, building trust among the population and assuaging concerns among potential investors.

The region’s new anti-graft bodies are investigating with voracity, taking notes from their Brazilian analogs. The U.S. can provide technical and monetary assistance to ensure these investigations translate into prosecutions.

Of course, the issue most commonly associated with the Northern Triangle is also the most pressing. Insecurity is both a factor in and a product of the region’s economic and institutional malaise. Of the more than 50,000 homicides in the Northern Triangle over the last three years, a horrifying 95 percent have gone unpunished. Parents will continue to send their children on the perilous journey north if they deem it more dangerous to stay put.  

A comprehensive strategy must go beyond cracking down on gangs to include policing improvements, criminal justice and prison reform. Community policing initiatives have shown promise here at home and have the potential to make an even bigger impact in the Northern Triangle. Increasing police accountability will be key in restoring the public trust that has eroded in recent years.  

All this will require a firm, bipartisan commitment to provide long-term funding. Just like with Plan Colombia, this isn’t about mere altruism. It’s an investment in our own security. Border interception won’t stop mass migration in the face of overwhelming push factors. Crackdowns won’t stop drug trafficking and gang violence in the face of pervasive poverty.

There’s a crisis right on our doorstep, but more importantly, it’s solvable.

Jason Marczak is director of the Latin America Economic Growth Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, and director of the Council’s Northern Triangle Security and Economic Opportunity Task Force.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.