[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
IGNORING OUR ALLIES IN THE WESTERN
HEMISPHERE: REVIEWING PRESIDENT BIDEN'S
FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET REQUEST
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 7, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-48
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,
or http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
54-496PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey GREGORY MEEKS, New York, Ranking
JOE WILSON, South Carolina Member
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania BRAD SHERMAN, California
DARRELL ISSA, California GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
ANN WAGNER, Missouri WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
BRIAN MAST, Florida DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
KEN BUCK, Colorado AMI BERA, California
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
MARK E. GREEN, Tennessee DINA TITUS, Nevada
ANDY BARR, Kentucky TED LIEU, California
RONNY JACKSON, Texas SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
YOUNG KIM, California DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida COLIN ALLRED, Texas
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan ANDY KIM, New Jersey
AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, SARA JACOBS, California
American Samoa KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
FRENCH HILL, Arkansas SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK,
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio Florida
JIM BAIRD, Indiana GREG STANTON, Arizona
MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
THOMAS KEAN, JR., New Jersey JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida
MICHAEL LAWLER, New York JONATHAN JACKSON, Illinois
CORY MILLS, Florida SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California
RICH McCORMICK, Georgia JIM COSTA, California
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas JASON CROW, Colorado
JOHN JAMES, Michigan BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
KEITH SELF, Texas
Brenda Shields, Staff Director
Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
MARIA SALAZAR, Florida, Chair
KEN BUCK, Colorado JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas, Ranking
MARK GREEN, Tennessee Member
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan GREG STANTON, Arizona
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida
KEITH SELF, Texas SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California
Ana Quintana, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
WITNESSES
Nichols, Brian, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere
Affairs, U.S. Department of State.............................. 8
Robinson, Todd, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State 16
Valls Noyes, Julieta, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State.............. 23
Escobari, Marcela, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin
America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International
Development.................................................... 29
APPENDIX
Hearing Notice................................................... 49
Hearing Minutes.................................................. 51
Hearing Attendance............................................... 52
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Responses to questions submitted for the record from Chairwoman
Salazar........................................................ 53
Responses to questions submitted for the record from Chairman
McCaul......................................................... 81
Responses to questions submitted for the record from
Representative Castro.......................................... 137
IGNORING OUR ALLIES IN THE WESTERN
HEMISPHERE: REVIEWING PRESIDENT BIDEN'S
FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET REQUEST
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:01 p.m., in
room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Maria Elvira
Salazar (chair of the subcommittee) presiding.
Ms. Salazar. So, the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
will come to order. The purpose of this hearing is to examine
the Biden Administration's Fiscal Year 2024 State and Foreign
Operations budget request for the Western Hemisphere and to
ensure this budget protects the United States' interests and
ensures America remains the partner of choice in Latin America
and the Caribbean. I now recognize myself for an opening
statement and thank you to all of you for being here this
afternoon.
President Joe Biden has taken every opportunity to ignore
our allies in Latin America. And I'm going to explain my strong
language with examples. In May 2021, Vice President Harris
challenged the United States corporations to invest in Latin
America to solve the migration crisis.
In that spirit, Ecuador requested a free trade agreement
with us, the United States, but they were ignored up until now.
Until today, Ecuador is the only country on Latin America's
Pacific Coast that does not have a free trade agreement with
the United States.
As well, Uruguay pleaded for a trade deal. Despite their
democratic record and strategic location, they have been
ignored up until today. As a consequence, last year both
countries took their business elsewhere, meaning China.
Meanwhile, the Chinese trade with Latin America has exploded
from $12 billion in 2000 to $495 billion last year, making it
the biggest trading partner in the Western Hemisphere. That is
very troublesome.
By contrast, the Oval Office has graciously welcomed
Columbia's President Gustavo Petro, a socialist; Argentina's
President, Alberto Fernandez, whose VP Cristina Kirchner is
among the most corrupt politicians in South America; and
Brazil's President Lula De Silva, who was sentenced to 12 years
for corruption before returning to power.
This Administration unfortunately has denied that welcoming
gesture to some conservative presidents since entering the
White House. For example, Guatemala's President Giammattei told
me personally over the phone that he felt disregarded by
President Biden. We know Guatemala is a critical choke point on
the path through Central America. And it holds one of the keys
to ending illegal immigration at our southern border. The White
House has ignored them as well, sanctioning some of Guatemala's
top government officials.
Let's go to the Caribbean, where our ally, President
Abinader from the Dominican Republic, has been overlooked
despite his aggressive anti-corruption measures and economic
growth. He has cried over the phone to myself again for help to
end the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, his neighbor. But we
abandoned the Dominicans and the Haitians and hoping for the
Canadians to step in, but they never have.
On top of that, the White House issued a travel ban that
labeled the Dominicans racist, damaging their tourism for 6
months. When I asked Secretary Blinken to provide evidence of
that racism, nothing was presented but thankfully the ban has
been lifted.
Now let's go to El Salvador, where President Biden also
rejected a visit from President Nayib Bukele. President Bukele
inherited the most dangerous country in Latin America and in 3
years has made it a safe haven for tourism and for investment.
He dismantled gangs, reduced the murder rate by 60 percent
and opened the country for business. El Salvador's economy has
raised historical averages for the second year in a row, but
the White House unfortunately threatened their progress by
sanctioning five of his top government officials.
Let's go to Panama. The Panamanian foreign minister
informed my office, in my presence, of their request to buy
nothing--they do not want anything given. They want to buy
helicopters and military vehicles from the Biden Administration
to secure the Darian Gap.
Once again, they assured me that they did not want anything
free. They wanted tools to secure the bottleneck between South
and Central America, but they are still waiting. Ignoring our
allies in Latin America is a vacuum that is being filled by
China, Russia, and Iran.
In another case, a few days after President Biden stopped
buying oil from Russia, a top Latin American advisor in the
White House, Mr. Juan Gonzalez, got on a plane to visit
President Maduro. But at the time, Maduro was not even
recognized as the legitimate president and was on the FBI's
most wanted list for $50 million on his head. We struck a deal
to buy some of the dirtiest oil produced on the planet. I
wanted to hear complaints from the environmentalists
surrounding President Biden, but they have remained silent.
Now let's look at Cuba. The regime has spread the most
anti-American poison in the last 60 years, but we have removed
the cap of remittances to give oxygen to their repressive
apparatus. We have welcome the Coast Guard to our military
installations. And we have sent some delegations to the island
and lifted sanctions on tourism. Something is very wrong with
our foreign policy when we are helping Cuba's tourism more than
Dominican Republic's tourism industry.
And now, I'm not sure if you know, that the Cuban regime
announced that Cuban soldiers are going to be going to Russia
to be on the front lines fighting the Ukrainians.
This budget does not reflect reality. Your actions show
that you have ignored our allies to the benefit of our enemies,
unfortunately. I'm just going to say a quick message in Spanish
and then we can proceed to the questions.
[Spanish language spoken.]
Ms. Salazar. The chair now recognizes the ranking member,
the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Castro, for an opening statement.
Thank you.
Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman. Good afternoon,
everybody. It is great to be here today in our Subcommittee's
budget hearing to examine the Biden Administration's request
for funding toward our Nation's foreign policy priorities in
the Western Hemisphere.
I have long stated that our neighbors to the south are our
most important allies. We are united by shared bonds of culture
and heritage and by economic cooperation that supports millions
of jobs here in the United States and also millions of jobs in
Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is not only beneficial but essential that we work with
our neighbors on issues from migration to democracy promotion
and security cooperation. This budget request shows that the
Biden Administration is prioritizing our engagement with the
Western Hemisphere.
As the 2022 National Security Strategy says, ``no region
impacts the United States more directly than the Western
Hemisphere.'' I am going to lay out a few of the issues that I
believe the Administration needs to prioritize. And I look
forward to hearing from the witnesses on their own approach.
The first is fentanyl. Fentanyl, as you all know, is a
serious challenge to public health, and my heart goes out to
the Americans who have lost friends and loved ones to the
fentanyl epidemic. They deserve real solutions that address the
threats of transnational criminal organizations and invest in a
broader public health response that tackles demand side issues
as well.
Unfortunately, some of the recent ideas proposed by some of
my colleagues, including bombing the cartels, are putting
American soldiers at risk in Mexico and are not serious or
credible ideas. Therefore, I look forward to hearing from our
witnesses on how the United States and Mexico have continued to
cooperate on and address these concerns through concrete,
impactful, and focused efforts.
Second is arms trafficking. Just as we look to work with
the Mexican government to fight fentanyl trafficking, I believe
we need to do more to stop the trafficking of firearms from the
United States into Mexico. The vast majority of weapons used by
cartels in Mexico and the Caribbean originate in our Nation,
the United States. No effort to take on these cartels is
serious if we do not address this issue.
I authored the ARMAS Act to align U.S. Government efforts
to combat the trafficking of firearms. And earlier this year, I
requested that the U.S. Government Accountability Office
produce a comprehensive report into firearms trafficking into
the Caribbean.
The United States needs to acknowledge the role our weapons
play in perpetuating violence in these countries. And I look
forward to hearing from our witnesses on progress made on this
issue in the last few years.
Next, migration. The Western Hemisphere is currently facing
the biggest migration crisis in decades, fueled by political
turmoil, failing institutions, and climate change. But the
reality is the majority of displaced people in our region are
not at our border. They remain within other Latin American
countries like Costa Rica, which has welcomed hundreds of
thousands of Nicaraguan migrants, and Columbia and Ecuador,
which have provided temporary status for millions of
Venezuelans.
While 7 million Venezuelans have been displaced in recent
years, 6 million of those remain in the Latin American region,
not in the United States and not at our border. Our neighbors
have stepped up and they want to do more, but they also need
our help.
I think there is an issue with the audio so we got to pause
for a second.
[Pause.]
Ms. Castro. All right. I look forward to hearing about what
we can do to help these countries with the integration of
migrants as part of our border strategy and on migration in the
hemisphere.
And finally on TPS, I want to urge the Administration to
re-designate temporary protected status for countries affected
by ongoing U.S. court cases, including Nicaragua, Honduras, and
El Salvador. I sincerely hope that the Administration pursues a
re-designation of TPS, not merely an extension or renewal of
TPS.
Absent broader congressional action, re-designating TPS for
these nations could be the single most consequential thing the
Biden Administration does on immigration and would meaningfully
help thousands of families.
I also look forward to hearing from the witnesses on U.S.
policy toward the Caribbean and how we will address democratic
backsliding and human rights violations in the hemisphere.
Additionally, I want to publicly call for the release and
return of Eyvin Hernandez, who has been wrongly retained in
Venezuela since March 2022. I know that Congresswoman Kamlager-
Dove, his representative in California, has been working hard
to bring him home.
And thank you to our witnesses for being here today and for
your commitment to public service. And thank you, Chairwoman
Salazar, for convening this hearing.
Ms. Salazar. Thanks to you. And other members of the
committee are reminded that opening statements may be submitted
for the record.
Now we are pleased to have a distinguished panel of
witnesses before us today on this important topic. Let's start
with Mr. Brian Nichols is the Assistant Secretary for the
Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Department of
State.
We have Mr. Todd Robinson is the Assistant Secretary for
the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at
the Department of State.
We have Ms. Julieta Valls Noyes is the Assistant Secretary
for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the
Department of State.
And Ms. Marcela Escobari is the Assistant Administrator in
the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United
States Agency for International Development.
Your full statements will be made part of the record. And I
will ask each of you to keep your spoken remarks to 5 minutes
in order to allow time for members' questions.
Now, I recognize Assistant Secretary Nichols for his
opening statement. Welcome, sir.
STATEMENT OF BRIAN NICHOLS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF
WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Nichols. Thank you, Chairwoman Salazar, Ranking Member
Castro, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee for the
opportunity to speak with you about the Administration's
proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget for the Western Hemisphere.
The Western Hemisphere is experiencing the most pivotal
moment in the last 30 years, the ability of the United States
to advance its national security interest at a time of dynamic
change while continuing to galvanize regional action in
response to regional and global challenges requires a clear
articulation of our approach to the Western Hemisphere that
supports accountable and representative democracies, a
prosperous middle class, thriving communities, and sustainable
development.
The Department's Fiscal Year 2024 budget request
demonstrates our sustained engagement in support of the
President's vision of a region that is secure, middle class,
democratic in contrast to the transactional approach of our
strategic competitors.
More than in any other part of the world, competition
between major powers in the Western Hemisphere directly affects
the prosperity and security of the United States and our
people.
Although the People's Republic of China has become the top
trading partner for the four largest economies in South
America, the United States remains by far the largest source of
investment and remittances in the region. However, to compete
more effectively, the United States will employ the full
toolkit at our disposal.
Similarly, 21 Latin American and Caribbean countries have
signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI. But the
expansion of BRI has also brought with it buyer's remorse for
many countries in the region. Countries tire of China's lack of
transparency and its disrespect for norms and freedoms that
characterize its commercial engagement. Nations bristle at the
PRC's absence of engagement and consultation with non-State
stakeholders, including civil society, that underpin regional
support for democracy. Worse still is the widespread
understanding that PRC offerings always come with strings
attached.
By contrast, most of the countries in the Western
Hemisphere view the United States as a partner of choice on
management of governments, rule of law, trade, and human
rights. Now they want us to present a viable alternative to
Chinese economic engagement. It is vital that we answer their
call.
Our proposed budget will use diplomatic engagement and
foreign assistance strategically to build partnerships in areas
of common interest. We are doing that through the Americas
partnership for economic prosperity. We will create compelling
conditions for U.S. companies to do business, help our partners
analyze the risk of working with strategic adversaries, and
develop safeguards against cyberattacks, illegal resource
extraction and other malign activities. These investments are
vital to our neighbors' safety, prosperity, and democratic
future as well as our own.
This budget prioritizes comprehensive solutions to address
the political, economic, and security challenges driving
irregular migration.
We request $979 million for State and USAID to implement
the U.S. strategy for addressing the root causes of migration
in Central America, in alignment with the United States
Northern Triangle Enhance Engagement Act. The budget also
includes $184 million for programs that advance legal pathways,
integrate migrants, and stabilize communities that host them.
Of this amount, $51 million for the Americas Partnership
Opportunity Fund will help countries take responsibility for
long-term migration management through sustainable public
planning and community-based solutions. Funds used to message
directly to prospective migrants will raise awareness of U.S.
immigration laws and programs and the dangers of irregular
migration.
With U.S. support, democratic governments that honor the
rights of all persons and deliver for their people will foster
societies where citizens can feel they can build their futures
as home. The proposed budget bolsters democracy, social
inclusion, and human rights by funding support to civil
society, democratic actors, independent media, and the
Organization of American States and its Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights to hold governments accountable.
Bolstering democratic institutions will help us push back
against democratic backsliding, corruption, and the false
narratives perpetrated by illiberal regimes.
The proposed budget includes more than $291 million for
Haiti to address longstanding food insecurity, political
instability, gang activity and complements the objectives of
the 10-year plan to implement the U.S. strategy to prevent
conflict and promote stability in Haiti, efforts to combat gang
activity focused on enhanced training and equipment for the
Haitian National Police.
This assistance is necessary, but not sufficient on its own
to build a more stable and economically viable Haiti, focusing
on improving health and education outcomes, advancing economic
and food security and improving the independence and
accountability of government institutions.
We are under no illusions that the international community
can solve deeply rooted problems in Haiti without Haitian
actors coming together to find a way forward.
Finally the budget includes $370 million to build climate
resilience through programs that contribute to protecting
biospheres like the Amazon, advancing clean energy solutions,
enhancing food security, building early warning and response
systems for natural disasters, and improving enforcement of
environmental crimes often perpetrated by transnational
criminal organizations and companies linked to strategic
competitors.
Our budget priorities for the Western Hemisphere envision a
hemisphere that thrives together to benefit the American
people. I look forward to your questions and comments.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nichols follows:]
NICHOLS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Salazar. Thank you, Assistant Secretary Nichols. And I
now recognize Assistant Secretary Robinson for his opening
statement. Welcome.
STATEMENT OF TODD ROBINSON ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Robinson. Thank you, Chair Salazar, Ranking Member
Castro, and distinguished members of the Committee. Thank you
for the opportunity to testify before you today.
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, INL, is responsible for nearly $1.4 billion of foreign
assistance globally under the International Narcotics Control
and Law Enforcement account request. This includes $536.5
million in INCL funding for the Western Hemisphere. It's about
38 percent of the total INCL request.
Countering the flow of fentanyl and its precursors is a top
priority. The CDC estimates nearly 110,000 people in the United
States died of a drug overdose in 2022 with a majority
involving fentanyl.
The State Department is leading a global response to the
synthetic drug challenge by disrupting transnational criminal
organizations ability to produce, traffic, and profit from
these deadly substances.
Most fentanyl seized in the United States is trafficked
through Mexico using diverted precursor chemicals sourced from
the People's Republic of China. Our cooperation with Mexico is
critical to the success of our efforts to combat the fentanyl
crisis.
We recognize that disrupting the flow of precursor
chemicals is crucial too, including engagement with the PRC and
others to better track and control these chemicals. We believe
INL is implementing programs that are making an impact against
fentanyl.
For example, we have provided more than 500 canines to
Mexican agencies to assist in seizures of fentanyl and other
drugs. Since 2019, these canines have seized nearly 485,000
fentanyl pills, representing tens of thousands of lives
potentially saved.
We also cannot ignore other counternarcotics challenges in
our hemisphere. Our approach in Columbia and Peru has evolved
from a focus on just cocaine reduction into a balanced approach
addressing factors enabling production and trafficking. This
includes promoting rural security, justice, and development,
drug demand reduction, and addressing corruption, and money
laundering.
In Ecuador, with INL's assistance, the government has
launched a specialized court with jurisdiction over drug
trafficking, human trafficking, kidnapping, and money
laundering cases.
In Haiti, INL is building the Haitian National Police's
capacity to counter the violent gangs driving instability.
In the Caribbean, through the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative, INL programming reduces illicit narcotics
trafficking and illicit firearms, disrupts organized crime, and
promotes regional cooperation.
In Central America, INL efforts focus on reducing the
governance and security drivers of irregular migration.
Programs to improve community policing and engage youth deter
gang influence and crime.
Corruption and impunity siphon resources from the
communities that need them, enabling insecurity and robbing
citizens of economic opportunity. INL works with partner
nations to identify and prosecute this corruption.
In many countries in our hemisphere anti-democratic
governments are closing the space for productive engagement. We
thus have increased our collaboration with local civil society
and independent media to combat the corruption, crime, and
impunity threatening the region.
Finally, INL ensures partners in the region remain
committed to the rule of law and rules based systems. They need
to be aware of the risks to partnering with the PRC as opposed
to the benefits of the United States as their security partner
of choice.
Getting ahead of all of these threats requires strategic
and innovative thinking. The challenges before us are immense,
but I am confident we can address them together to keep our
country and people safe. Thank you for the opportunity to
testify before you. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Robinson follows:]
ROBINSON
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Salazar. Thank you, Assistant Secretary Robinson. I now
recognize Assistant Secretary Valls Noyes for her opening
statement.
STATEMENT OF MS. VALLS NOYES, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF
POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. Valls Noyes. Good afternoon, Chair Salazar, Ranking
Member Castro, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I
am pleased to be here with my colleagues to speak about the
critical work that we are doing together in the Americas. My
remarks here summarize the written testimony I already
provided.
As we gather today, Western Hemisphere governments are
confronting the largest displacement crisis in history. Of the
more than 100 million people forced to abandon their homes,
families, and livelihoods globally, some 20 million are in this
hemisphere, including more than 7 million Venezuelans.
The problem is complex, it is growing, and it is
increasingly clear that no single country can tackle it alone.
This is why 20 other Western Hemisphere leaders joined
President Biden in endorsing the Los Angeles Declaration on
Migration and Protection on the margins of the Summit of the
Americas last year.
The LA Declaration calls for regional approaches to address
migration challenges and make progress on shared priorities. We
are already seeing progress.
In response to growing needs, the Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration provided nearly $580 million in
humanitarian assistance for the Western Hemisphere in Fiscal
Year 2022. This assistance helped deliver lifesaving aid, like
water and emergency healthcare to refugees, asylum seekers, and
other vulnerable migrants.
It also supports integration and livelihoods programs to
countries throughout the hemisphere to provide solutions closer
to home for displaced people who might otherwise pursue
dangerous migration onward, including to the United States.
It funds capacity-building work to develop effective and
efficient asylum systems in partner countries. It gives local
communities resources to respond to migration and forced
displacement, and it gets results.
With PRM, partner organizations helped Colombia develop and
implement a 10-year temporary protected status program that so
far has allowed 1.6 Venezuelans, million Venezuelans, to work
and access health and education services.
PRM also funded the U.N. Refugee Agency to help Mexico grow
its national asylum agency and streamline processes to manage a
sevenfold increase in applications. Mexico has become a viable
destination for asylum applicants, who again might have sought
asylum in our country.
Right now, the Department is bringing together existing and
available resources to the table to surge support to the region
to the maximum extent possible. We are substantially expanding
migration-related programming in this hemisphere this year as
we reevaluate assistance priorities. And as we make difficult
decisions and look forward to future requirements, we will do
so in close coordination with the Congress.
Meanwhile, we are also expanding our own refugee
resettlement efforts in the hemisphere. The President committed
to resettling 20,000 refugees over 2 years from our hemisphere,
and we are working to make that number even higher.
At the same time, we are building a resettlement diplomacy
network of governments around the world to expand overall
global refugee resettlement capacity and share responsibility
for refugee resettlement more equally. I hosted a productive
meeting of senior officials of this network in Washington just
last week.
We are also working in close partnership with the
Department of Homeland Security on humane migration management
as part of a comprehensive, hemispheric approach to migration.
This includes a new initiative of regional processing centers
for lawful migration pathways that we are now are calling
Movilidad Segura, safe mobility.
Under Movilidad Segura, our international organization
partners will run regional offices where they will prescreen
refugees for resettlement and provide migrants information on
other lawful pathways to the United States and other countries
or for local integration or for voluntary returns home.
Refugees and other vulnerable migrants will be able to
visit these offices to get critical information and assistance
without putting themselves in the hands of smugglers or in the
way of danger.
We are committed to responsible stewardship of limited
resources to meet growing humanitarian needs in the Americas
and beyond. We are actively seeking new ways to multiply the
impact of every taxpayer dollar. We are looking beyond
traditional bilateral approaches and working with the
international financial institutions and the MDBs.
We have launched a public-private partnership for refugee
employment, and we are pursuing other initiatives to put
together both our humanitarian assistance and our development
funding in ways that multiple the effect of both.
So in closing, I want to thank the members of this
committee for holding this hearing and giving us the
opportunity to discuss the work we are doing to meet the
challenges of the moment.
We appreciate your support. And I thank you and look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Valls Noyes follows:]
VALLS NOYES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Salazar. Thank you. Thank you, Assistant Secretary
Valls Noyes. I now recognize Assistant Administrator Escobari
for her opening statement.
STATEMENT OF MARCELA ESCOBARI, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU
FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Ms. Escobari. Chair Salazar, Ranking Member Castro, and
distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to be here with you today.
We have a vested interest in the stability and prosperity
of our closest neighbors. And the President's 2024 budget
request for USAID allows us to continue to be good partners on
our shared interests, good neighbors, and good stewards of
taxpayer dollars.
Our approach to development, building long-term
relationships, showing up in times of need and delivering
lasting results works, and it stands in direct contrast to the
often opaque and opportunistic approach of the PRC.
When we are good partners toward a more democratic and
prosperous hemisphere, our work advances our national security
goals. For example, development can and has played a critical
role in responding to the historic levels of migration across
the region.
USAID's holistic approach complements broader USG efforts
by first addressing the root causes of migration and giving
people the option to stay in their communities. We are creating
economic opportunity and tackling insecurity and corruption.
Our work is helping women like Mercedes, who I met last
month in Guatemala, turn her subsistence farm into a business
that is now prosperous enough to enable her husband, who had
migrated abroad, to come home.
Second, our support of H-2 visa programs helps people come
to the U.S. to work in conditions of dignity, safety, and
mutual benefit. Guest workers fill jobs in places like Utah and
Alaska and then return home with more skills and resources to
support their families and invest in their communities.
And third, we invest in the integration of migrants in
partner countries. Our support of Colombia and Ecuador as they
implement their generous TPS policies has helped Venezuelans
displaced by the disastrous Maduro regime. They can now put
their kids in school, access healthcare, get jobs, open bank
accounts, and settle where they are.
This budget requests $83 million to expand on these
integration programs. Now, we know that the real sources of
political instability in the region are autocracy and
corruption, and this budget requests $535 million to support
independent media, human rights, and rule of law, and to help
democracies deliver for their citizens.
With $50 million in Venezuela, USAID will push for more
competitive elections in 2024, making it harder for the Maduro
regime to commit election fraud.
With $20 million in State and AID funding for Cuba and $15
million for Nicaragua, we will continue to support those on the
front lines fighting for their most basic rights and freedoms.
We are also there when disaster strikes. In 2022 alone,
USAID provided $500 million in emergency response in 12
countries. We responded to floods in Peru, the earthquake in
Ecuador, volcanic eruptions in St. Vincent, forest fires in
Chile, and much more.
We continue to support the Haitian people whose lives have
been upended by gang violence. USAID is reaching 700,000
Haitians with food and supports over 150 health clinics, which
most recently helped limit the outbreak of cholera, and $246
million in Fiscal Year 2024 for Haiti will allow us to meet
these urgent needs while we work toward a diplomatic solution
on security.
We know that our aid will always be small relative to the
size of the challenges. So we focus on solving market failures
and piloting solutions that local governments and companies can
then adopt and expand.
With modest loan guarantees, we helped unlock over a
billion dollars in commercial bank finance for small businesses
in former conflict zones in Colombia. We piloted new carbon
markets and 24-hour courts to combat gender-based violence,
which now continued forward on their own.
This budget will allow us to double down with neighbors who
embrace reform, like the Dominican Republic. We are helping
them carry out transparent public procurements that facilitate
investments in strategic infrastructure like the Port of
Manzanillo, which is now allowing the DR to capitalize on
nearshoring opportunities. We seek to make investments that
generate impact far beyond our dollars.
During my recent trip to the region, I heard repeatedly
from our partners that now is when we are needed the most.
With an uneven economic recovery and democratic values
under attack, our allies have asked for our help. USAID is
prepared to give it, and this budget will make that possible.
Thank you for the Subcommittee's commitment to Latin
America and the Caribbean, and I look forward to your
questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Escobari follows:]
ESCOBARI
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Salazar. Thank you, Assistant Administrator Escobari.
And now I recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning.
Thank you once again for being here, Mr. Nichols. And I
recognize that I am going to echo your words that fentanyl is
our No. 1 problem that we need to work with Mexico. But I'm
going to talk about Mexico in a few minutes. Let me start with
Colombia.
Colombia is right now the No. 1 producer of coke. They have
their resources to produce cocaine and many other drugs. And I
just want to ask you did anyone in the U.S. Government receive
a call from anyone in the Petro Administration to cancel ex-
Ambassador's Armando Benedetti's visa to the United States?
Mr. Nichols. Madam Chairwoman, I am not aware that any
person in our Administration has received such a call.
Ms. Salazar. And do you know why this Government canceled
ex-Ambassador Armando Benedetti's visa to the United States?
Mr. Nichols. I'm afraid I cannot discuss the individual
visa cases. And I would have to refer you to the Bureau of
Consular Affairs.
Ms. Salazar. And why do you think his--do you have any idea
why the visa was canceled?
Mr. Nichols. Well, I note that he----
Ms. Salazar. You're the top guy. I am sure they would have
to call you and tell you, hey, we are going to do this and
that. Benedetti is, you know, I do not have to explain to you
who he is, and the importance he may have in bringing
information to us as to how the Petro Presidential campaign was
funded.
Mr. Nichols. Well, he is subject to investigation in
Colombia at this moment. His government withdrew his
accreditation to Venezuela, and he is currently the subject of
an investigation in his home country. I have full faith in
Colombian institutions to get to the bottom of this matter.
Ms. Salazar. But you know that he said that he has been
willing to say who financed President Petro's campaign. So I'm
sure that you are interested in knowing that piece of
information.
So my question is, if Mr. Benedetti wants to come in front
of this forum to tell us, to tell us in particular, who
financed Petro's campaign, will you give him the visa? And do
not tell me that that belongs to the Bureau of Visas because
you are the top guy, and you can make the call and say, yes,
give it to him so he can come to the United States. Would you
be willing to do that?
Mr. Nichols. I do not have the authority to issue visas.
Ms. Salazar. Sure you do.
Mr. Nichols. What I would suggest----
Ms. Salazar. You can call.
Mr. Nichols [continuing]. That Ambassador Benedetti----
Ms. Salazar. You can call and say, we would like the guy to
be in the United States.
Mr. Nichols. I suggest that Ambassador Benedetti use his
already demonstrated ability to talk to the media, to use
Twitter, and to talk to Colombian authorities to tell his
story.
Ms. Salazar. Twitter is not under oath in front of this
Committee. So I'm saying, can I count on your word to grant--to
help us get the visa for Benedetti?
Mr. Nichols. I would encourage him to work with Colombian
authorities so that his own government can investigate the
allegations in play.
Ms. Salazar. Let me now--I'll get back to you on that, but
thank you.
Let me now talk to Mr. Robinson. Thank you again. This is
the first time we have had the ability to talk to each other.
I'm going to paraphrase some of the phrases on your testimony
and basically the phrase that stuck out is that the space for
productive engagement is closing as anti-democratic governments
have gained power and that's true. And I wish you were talking
about Nicaragua or about Venezuela or Cuba. But you're talking
about Guatemala and El Salvador.
And you said that we have, as you just said right now,
innovative thinking, strategic. So basically, what you are
saying is that you are not going to work with the AGs, the
attorney generals, of Guatemala and El Salvador. And this
government is not going to provide resources to those two
government officials. They are in charge of fighting drugs,
crime. So you are going to be canceling two of the key
countries in Central America. Why?
Mr. Robinson. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the question. The
short answer is we are. We continue to work with both of those
governments on issues that are important to us, including
counternarcotics.
Ms. Salazar. But you said that you are not going to work
with their AGs.
Mr. Robinson. I have not said we're not going to work with
their AGs. But I would note that I think both AGs have been
sanctioned by the Biden-Harris Administration for either anti-
Democratic or corrupt issues.
Ms. Salazar. But, listen, you have a lot of anti-democratic
people, governments in this hemisphere, starting with people
that you work with all the time. Venezuela, we're buying oil,
Cuba, we're sending delegations, and Nicaragua. So I understand
that there are no saints in the hemisphere, but we have to work
with El Salvador and Guatemala for our own benefit and our own
interests, right, of stopping fentanyl.
So how can we work with these two governments that
according to your statement you are not going to work with
those AGs because of those anti-Democratic governments?
Mr. Robinson. What I would say is we in fact are working
with both of these governments. We are working with them on
migration issues. We are working with them on counternarcotics
issues. We are supplying them with technical assistance and
equipment that they need to go after the narcotics traffickers
that are trafficking drugs, precursor chemicals.
Ms. Salazar. So you're backtracking your statement that you
are going to work with the AGs.
Mr. Robinson. We have been. We are working with national
police. We are working with civilian security. We are working
with those prosecutors that we think can be useful and are not
working in an anti-democratic or corrupt manner. Yes, we will
find people to work with.
Ms. Salazar. Okay. I just want to point out the fact that
you said that Honduras, you can work with Honduras because it
is less corrupt than the other two. But I just want to point
out the fact that the President of Honduras, one of her first
acts of government after she was elected president was to
pardon all officials from her husband, Manuel Zelaya, that were
accused of corruption charges against them.
So you're telling me that Honduras is less corrupt than
Guatemala and El Salvador and the first act of government from
this lady is to pardon people who are in jail for corruption?
Mr. Robinson. What I would say is we have to find ways to
work with those countries that are crucial to fighting
counternarcotics, fighting corruption, and we have to support
their democratic institutions. That's what my bureau, INL, is
focused on. And we will find those actors in those governments
that are willing to do that.
Ms. Salazar. Ms. Julieta, let me just ask you--let's go a
little bit to the harrowing experiences that you heard to
Necocli in Colombia. Just narrate for us one of the most
grueling experiences that you experienced there.
Ms. Valls Noyes. Thank you, Chair Salazar. I visited
Colombia in March and met with our international organization
partners, who are doing a lot of work to help support
integration and capacity building for Colombian authorities.
But I also had the opportunity to visit the beachfront town of
Necocli, which is basically the entrance point into the Darien
Gap. It's a beautiful little beach town, and it was one of the
most awful mornings of my life.
Ms. Salazar. And tell me.
Ms. Valls Noyes. Because I saw hundreds of people amassed
there, who had spent all of the money that they had, had sold
everything, given up everything that they had in order to try
and find a better life for their families and in doing so had
put themselves in the hands of criminal organizations to try
and smuggle them through this jungle, this otherwise
impenetrable jungle.
And it broke my heart because I saw people there with
babies in strollers, carrying a few treasured possessions, and
some of them I think naively thinking that it was just going to
be a walk through a park when in fact they were going into a
true tropical jungle with all of the dangers implicit in the
wild life and the insects and the snakes, but also the dangers
that come from the criminal organizations.
And some of the people I saw I am convinced will never
emerge from that jungle. They will be killed. They will be
raped. They will be exploited. And that is just the beginning
of the passage because if they make it through the jungle many
of them will try to continue onward to try to make it to our
border.
Ms. Salazar. Right.
Ms. Valls Noyes. And that is why it is so important for us
to find new, innovative solutions like these Safe Mobility
offices that we are trying to establish around the region so
that the criminal organizations no longer have the ability to--
--
Ms. Salazar. And that's what we are all trying to do. Thank
you for your--Okay. I am now going to recognize Ranking Member
Castro for 5 minutes. Thank you.
Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman. As we discussed, the
vast majority--I discussed earlier the vast majority of
migrants displaced in the Western Hemisphere are in countries
like Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico.
And so this question is for Assistant Administrator
Escobari and Assistant Secretary Noyes. What specific efforts
are you undertaking or proposing to help countries integrate
these migrants? And can you walk me through how effective U.S.
funding would be if directed toward this purpose? And I know
there is a lot of ground to cover there, but maybe you all
could do it as succinctly as possible.
Ms. Escobari. Thank you, Congressman. As you rightly noted,
what is different about this crisis is the 7 million people
coming out of Venezuela that are being absorbed in South
America. The growth of migration, of migrants, has grown inside
of Latin America 17 times more than from Latin America to the
U.S. So it is these countries that are taking the burden and
have taken really historic policies, both in terms of their
pragmatism and their generosity, to take then out of the
shadows and let them work and settle in those countries.
We were next to the Colombian government from the moment
they started implementing this, we gave them 400 surge staff to
be able to do the TPS. Or helping in Peru, many migrants
validate their degree so they can actually work because the
Peruvian government allowed them to validate during the
pandemic, particularly healthcare workers. And they have added
tremendously to the response.
And similarly, Colombia is making the bet which they have
shown in numbers that if they successfully integrate these
migrants, it is going to end up providing over $2 billion to
their GDP.
So where we hope to help--the problem is that it is very
politically costly to do this. The cost is now, and the benefit
is later. So we are helping them with our colleagues at State,
but it is still a small percentage of the need. Right now, we
are the largest funders. And I do think we do need to galvanize
the rest of the international community because what we learn
from that integration work is going to be helpful for the rest
of the world because dislocation is only going to continue.
Ms. Valls Noyes. So I would just jump in to thank the
Congress for the appropriations that it has delivered to allow
us to provide support for these countries for the lifesaving
work that they are doing over the last--since 2017, the United
States has provided $2.8 billion worth of humanitarian
assistance to support Venezuelan migrants in 17 countries.
And as a result of that support, most of those Venezuelans
have stayed in the Americas where there are perhaps more
cultural affinities, linguistic affinity. And they are closer
to home because the majority of them, what they really want to
do, is to return safely 1 day to their country. But right now,
that is just not possible to a place like Venezuela.
Nicaraguans are also leaving. There are people leaving from
other countries in our hemisphere. So all of the support that
you generously appropriate to allow us to support these people
helps keep people closer to home and closer to a longer term
solution.
Mr. Castro. Oh, thank you. And I think the Chairwoman has
generously said I can go over 2 or 3 minutes on these remarks.
Thank you. And in that spirit, I want to respond to some of
your opening statements. As you can imagine, you know, we have
a bit of countertakes on some of it. And I just want to go
through some of those countries and kind of what we are seeing
in terms of engagement.
In Guatemala, you know, elections are coming up on June 25.
And Guatemalan judges are largely perceived to be under the
influence of President Giammattei have banned four of the top
opposition Presidential candidates from participating.
But the front runner, conservative Pineda, was suspended
from running 2 weeks ago. The other three candidates, who
represented indigenous populations, were banned based on false
allegations of bribery and embezzlement to links with drug
cartels. And many democracy indexes have categorized Guatemala
as a hybrid regime, just barely above authoritarian.
The U.S. Government has sanctioned numerous government
officials for corruption, including Attorney General Porras.
And last month, El Periodico, an outlet famous for
investigating corruption cases, was forced to shut down due to
intimidation, harassment, and arrest of its journalists.
In Cuba, the Biden Administration's re-engagement with Cuba
has allowed for the restart of remittances, which is essential
for survival and family reunification programs. The U.S.
Government is also better able to collaborate on law
enforcement, migration, and economic opportunity. And Cuba has
opened up its business and private sector to a level unseen in
years.
More and more Cuban entrepreneurs are advocating for the
United States to support them and the people through lessened
sanctions. Re-engagement with the Maduro regime has allowed the
United States and its partners to better support the Venezuelan
people, whether it is those who are trying to reunite with
their family in the region or in the United States or fight for
democracy.
Negotiations in Colombia and Mexico have made meaningful
progress, including through the agreed creations of a UN-
monitored humanitarian fund that will provide support directly
to the people from sanctioned assets. While providing Maduro
with legitimacy with regard to Venezuela is dangerous, we must
work to uplift democratic institutions and humanitarian access
in that country.
We support efforts to ensure Venezuela's 2024 election is
as free and as far as possible following the end of the interim
government lead by Mr. Guiado, which means recognizing the
legitimacy of the candidate chosen to run by the Unitarian
opposition party.
In El Salvador, 132 of the people jailed in El Salvador in
a State of exception died without a trial, without having been
found guilty of their accused crimes. Over 66,000 people have
been arrested under the State of exception, many without due
process, access to counsel, or adequate prison conditions. They
face torture and denial of food and medical services. This is a
dangerous precedent for the region, implying that the way to
deal with criminal activity and gangs is to suspend human
rights and increase violent and arbitrary enforcement.
The systematic violation of human rights and dismantling of
the rule of law are not the answer to these problems. This
strategy also criminalizes those living in poverty and in gang-
ridden neighborhoods.
And then finally on Mexico and fentanyl, 86 percent of
fentanyl traffickers are American citizens, not migrants, not
cartel members, American citizens, our own people.
The Biden Administration and Mexico recently announced
agreements to crack down on labs and smuggling as well as
increased information sharing. Despite rhetoric from AMLO, the
United States has increased funding while Mexico has committed
to increase staffing. In April, the White House increased
sanctions to combat fentanyl trafficking.
While rhetoric on invading Mexico may seem unrealistic,
members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have called for
invading Mexico and use the designation of fentanyl as a
chemical weapon a basis for such military action.
Representative Crenshaw and Representative Waltz introduced
an AUMF against the cartels, which has a total of 20 co-
sponsors. A majority of Republican Presidential candidates have
expressed openness or support for military action even without
Mexico's cooperation, permission, or support. Congress
commissioned an extensive report last year, which determined
that progress against fentanyl would be achieved only by
pairing enforcement with a reduction in U.S. demand.
Thank you, Chair. I yield back
Ms. Salazar. I now recognize the gentleman from Texas,
Congressman Self.
Mr. Self. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm very interested in
some of your written testimony. We'll go quickly since I do
have to leave. Mr. Robinson, you said that regarding cocaine,
you wanted to increase security and decrease criminality. What
do you mean by decrease criminality in regard to cocaine?
Mr. Robinson. I suspect, not knowing the context, I suspect
we mean increase the--decrease the ability of people, the
reasons for people to join in this criminality.
Mr. Self. When we think about Mexico, it is certainly an
important trading partner. But I believe now we have determined
that rather than the less than hundreds of billions of dollars,
the cartel operations are now worth well over several hundred
billion dollars when we consider human trafficking, drug
trafficking, sex trafficking. They've taken over the avocado
drop, I think.
So how in the world are we going to address that without
direct action? I mean, you all are about soft power here. How
in the world are we going to get at the cartels? And would
you--and here is the direct question. Do you consider Mexico
close to a failed State?
Mr. Robinson. I do not consider Mexico close to a failed
State, No. 1. And there is direct action, No. 2, on both sides
of the border, both in the United States and in Mexico. Our law
enforcement people are facing these cartels every day, and they
are dying on both sides of the border. So there is direct
action going on.
Mr. Self. And I will say, while I admire our 200k
resettlement, I think the number is probably closer to 5
million under the Biden Administration.
I want to turn to Mr. Nichols. You testified that China is
now the top trading partner for the four largest economies in
South America, and yet we are by far the greatest source of
investment. Does that not seem like an oxymoron to you?
Mr. Nichols. Thank you, Congressman. No, it does not. The
issue is that a number of countries in South America are large
commodity producers. So countries like Brazil sell soy,
fertilizer, wheat. Mining countries like Chile and Peru are
selling copper and other products to China. That is where the
source of the trade is.
U.S. investment in these countries creates high value jobs
in technology services. We are providing manufactured goods.
That trade creates high-value jobs. One-third of the economy of
Brazil is created by U.S. American Chamber of
Commerce member companies. So that is a statement on the
value of what our companies are doing.
Mr. Self. Now, staying with China, we are still paying the
price for our withdrawal from Afghanistan. And I believe that
one of the results of that may be that China obviously wants
Taiwan back in the Chinese orbit, the Communist Chinese orbit.
In your opinion, oh, it is out of your bailiwick. I will
tell you I think we probably have less than 2 years before they
make their move because--and it depends on the Presidential
election. But if China makes their move during the current
Administration, riding the coattails of the absolute disastrous
withdrawal from Afghanistan, which we are paying the price all
over the world, everybody knows they can test us. I think that
what you have testified here is not enough.
And the direct question for Mr. Nichols is, does this
budget give you the opportunities to address the threat of
China? And the threat of China, the most direct threat,
shooting the closest wolf to the sled, would be deterring them
from Taiwan.
Mr. Nichols. Well, thank you Congressman. Our budget does
provide us with crucial tools to deal with PRC incursions into
our hemisphere. It allows us to strengthen our partners'
democracies, to give greater access to education, healthcare,
to provide more opportunities for infrastructure development,
and to build resilience in democracies that are under pressure
from the PRC and other strategic adversaries.
Mr. Self. How many countries in Central and South America
have broken ties with Taiwan over the last 2 years?
Mr. Nichols. Two.
Mr. Self. Just two?
Mr. Nichols. But we need to do as much as we can to talk
about values in our hemisphere and to make sure that countries
appreciate the importance of a strong democratic partner like
Taiwan.
Mr. Self. My time runs short, Chairman. Thank you,
Chairwoman. Thank you.
Ms. Salazar. I recognize the gentleman from Arizona,
Congressman Stanton.
Mr. Stanton. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you to
all the outstanding witnesses for being here today. My home
State is Arizona. And we have a very close relationship with
Mexico. We are neighbors. We are trading partners. And we share
a precious resource, the Colorado River.
The 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty between our two countries
outlines the parameters for sharing the river's water. Mexico
has been a key partner on the river. And the United States has
always made its treaty deliveries to Mexico.
In recent years, Mexico has contributed in the same way as
other basin States in reducing consumption as we face drought.
Last year Mexico's allocation of the Colorado River was reduced
by 5 percent. And this year as the drought has persisted, it
was reduced by 7 percent.
These cuts, combined with significant cuts taken by Arizona
and Nevada have been helpful. But they will not be able to
reverse the devastating impacts of the ongoing 23-year drought,
a drought that threatens the entire Colorado River ecosystem
and all who rely on it.
We all have an interest in protecting the system from
collapse. Recently, the lower basin States, Arizona, Nevada,
and California reached an agreement to conserve an additional 3
million acre feet of water over the next 3 years to protect
water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, but we cannot do it
alone.
This crisis needs an all hands on deck approach from all
basin users, including Mexico. Assistant Secretary Nichols, as
a cooperative work through the International Boundary and Water
Commission and the Department of Interior continues, I hope the
United States will work expeditiously with all basin
stakeholders to ensure our two countries are able to protect
the Colorado River in the near-term and lay the groundwork for
long-term solutions to this looming disaster before it is too
late.
Assistant Secretary Nichols, can you provide us an update
on discussions with Mexico on this most important issue?
Mr. Stanton. Thank you, Congressman. The work of the
International Boundary Water Commission is vital to address
this increasing challenge for both of our countries. We have
continued to negotiate, as you laid out, the way forward to
deal with lower water levels and to address Mexico's deficit in
feeding water into the system.
The efforts will continue. Mexican farmers, just as U.S.
farmers as well as urban populations, will need to make
significant adjustments to their water consumption and look for
infrastructure investments that will allow water to be
conserved through things like run-off control as well as better
treatment options.
As this process goes forward, we hope to be able to ensure
a steady, safe, reliable supply of water for both of our
countries.
Mr. Stanton. I appreciate that. Your role is critical. We
cannot come up with a global solution to the 1,200 year
drought, the worst drought in 1,200 years, along the Colorado
River, unless Mexico is a full partner and that has to do with
international agreements. And so time is ticking away. It is a
critical time right now to reach those full agreements.
Now turning to illicit fentanyl trade, which is one of the
State Department's top priorities, I recently spoke with
Secretary Blinken about this during a full Foreign Affairs
Committee hearing and in a small roundtable. And I want to
continue working with the Department of State to stop of flow
of fentanyl and the tragic overdoses that follow.
Assistant Secretary Robinson, you were part of the
delegation to discuss implementation of the Mexico-United
States bicentennial framework for securing public health and
safe communities this past April.
Knowing that President Lopez Obrador has dismissed Mexico's
role in the fentanyl trade, can you expand upon your efforts to
work with Mexico on counter narcotics within and outside the
framework and how you see that collaboration evolving?
Mr. Robinson. Thank you, Congressman, for the question. The
fact is the Department of State, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the Department of Justice are all working
together in an interagency fashion with our counterparts in
Mexico on things like technology, making sure that they are not
using PRC technology at the border.
We are working with them on investigations. We are working
with them on capacity building and training for their forces
that are challenged by the narcotics traffickers. We have also
recognized the role and responsibility of the United States in
this in terms of guns and money going south.
The Department of Justice is working very closely with the
Mexican prosecutor general to increase the amount of
investigations and prosecutions in that regard.
It is a challenge. And one of the biggest challenges
frankly is that right now Mexico is not investing enough in its
security apparatus and its prosecutorial apparatus as we are,
as the United States is. And part of our challenge, part of our
obligation is to convince them to do more on that front.
Mr. Stanton. Okay. Well, please let us know how we can
support those very, very important efforts. In your opening
statement, you talked about some low hanging fruit, the
providing of the 500 drug sniffing dogs with Mexican law
enforcement. That has been very successful in finding almost
500,000 fentanyl pills just recently.
What other specific projects are you working on and how
does your budget request support those efforts?
Mr. Robinson. Well, we are--the budget request is
essentially flat lined from 2022. But we feel like we have--we
feel like we are devoting enough resources on capacity
building, technology, the canines that we mentioned. We need to
get the Mexicans to do more.
We also think we need to look at how we can make the
business of crossing the border more efficient. We have a study
out that we and the government of Mexico worked on together to
look at how we can move illicit goods faster and more
efficiently across the border while at the same time stopping
the illicit trade that goes across the border.
Mr. Stanton. Thank you very much. I yield back. Thank you,
Chairwoman.
Ms. Salazar. And now I recognize the gentleman from Ohio,
Congressman Davidson.
Mr. Davidson. Thank you all. Thank you, Chairwoman. And I
appreciate the work you guys are doing or I should say that are
supposed to be doing. Some of it obviously we disagree on.
I am encouraged, frankly, by the testimony. Mr. Robinson,
you just talked about paying attention to the influence that
China has with technology and other things there. I note that
the Administration has made some efforts toward China's abusive
practices in fishing the waters off of Chile and Ecuador for
example.
But, you know, what makes the news a lot, maybe it is all
because of the media's focus is, you know, climate change and
gender priorities and social agendas that you are trying to
push on more culturally conservative countries like Guatemala.
So, you know, I would like to focus on the real threats to
our security in the region. And when you think about that, I
was encouraged by the emphasis on fentanyl. And that really
ties back to one of the big threats is China. I mean, the
chemicals are coming from China. And, you know, the cartels are
happy to sell just about anything to make money.
Mr. Nichols, is China making money or is China just
subsidizing the fentanyl? What's the China motive for supplying
all these chemicals to the cartels to kill our people?
Mr. Nichols. We've raised our concerns with China in a
number of different fora. Chinese private companies take
advantage of the opportunity to sell chemical precursors to, as
well as from, other countries, India, for example, sell
chemical precursors to illicit organizations in Mexico, which
are used to produce fentanyl.
And we have to work together in the international community
to combat the illicit production of synthetic drugs. I would
defer to my learned colleague, Todd Robinson, on how we are
doing that in detail.
Mr. Robinson. Your concerns are our concerns. We know that
there is more the PRC can do in terms of being a better partner
in the global community. There are things like know your
customer laws that they could implement.
Mr. Davidson. If we hooked them up with an OFAC regime and
sanctions on the companies that are supplying these chemicals
and the individuals affiliated with them, would that help the
effort?
Mr. Robinson. Well, not only will it help the effort, it is
helping the effort. We have just over the last few weeks
sanctioned a number of Chinese PRC private companies that we
know are illicitly trafficking precursor chemicals.
Mr. Davidson. And can that continue into Mexico, Central
and South America for the individuals that take possession and
delivery of these chemicals?
Mr. Robinson. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Mr. Davidson. I am encouraged by that and so thanks for
your efforts there. And, you know, Mr. Nichols, when you look
at, you know, big challenges in the Western Hemisphere and the
role of China, historically the U.S., you know, had something
referred to as the Monroe Doctrine. We took a special interest
in the entire Western Hemisphere. And, you know, there were
positive attributes to that, negative connotations, certainly a
reference to the Monroe Doctrine.
With America paying, you know, a principal interest in the
Western Hemisphere seems to have waned. We seem to become more
passive over a long period of time. And China has used that.
They have definitely grown their influence in a way that
historically the United States did not really tolerate. When
did that change in your estimation and why?
Mr. Nichols. The President's budget provides or requests a
20 percent increase in funding for our programs in this
hemisphere. Last year President Biden hosted the leaders from
across our hemisphere in Los Angeles for the Summer of the
Americas. Secretary Blinken has traveled throughout the
hemisphere as I and other numerous other senior officials at
this table and in our department and around the cabinet.
Mr. Davidson. Yes.
Mr. Nichols. We are very focused on this hemisphere. We
have to bring all the tools to bear that we have across the
interagency to support our partners in this hemisphere. They do
not want these influences from the outside in the vast majority
of the countries in this hemisphere.
We have to provide them with good options so that they can
grow and be successful.
Mr. Davidson. So you are trying. We are just not
succeeding--not well enough----
Mr. Nichols. This is a----
Mr. Davidson [continuing]. Which is why you want more
money.
Mr. Nichols. This is why I said, this is the most
challenging moment I have seen in 30 years in our hemisphere.
And we have to do everything that we can to help our neighbors
and our partners around the region to succeed and to resist
these strategic competitors from outside our region.
Mr. Davidson. All right. And my last question would just
be, you know, why the selective enforcement? And the Chairwoman
kind of talked about it, but it seems like, you know, if you
have got a left leaning government, like in Mexico or Venezuela
or Nicaragua, then, you know, you kind of get a little bit of a
free pass with the Administration, you know. But if you have
got a right leaning government, well, we want to talk about
social agendas or we want to talk about something else. We want
to limit our relationship. We want to apply pressure to those
countries. And we seem to--you know, how do we improve
relations with these left leaning countries? Why is that?
Mr. Nichols. There is absolutely no selective enforcement,
sir. Our focus is on supporting democracy, private sector led
growth and opportunities for the middle class throughout the
hemisphere.
Mr. Davidson. Has the effort inside El Salvador improved
the safety and security for the people of El Salvador?
Mr. Nichols. So El Salvador, in this request, will get $125
million in bilateral assistance from the United States. El
Salvador is a country with deep ties to the United States. We
are committed to helping the Salvadoran people to address the
needs that they have.
And certainly there has been a substantial improvement in
security in El Salvador over the course of the last 2 years.
But there are also significant concerns about due process and
respect for human rights in El Salvador, and we have to balance
those things and act in our interest, which is why we are the
leading provider of foreign assistance to El Salvador and have
been for a generation.
Mr. Davidson. Thank you. I appreciate your answers. And
best of success in your efforts.
Ms. Salazar. I now recognize for 5 minutes, the gentlewoman
from California, Kamlager-Dove.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to
our witnesses for being here today. I also want to thank
Ranking Member Castro for mentioning the continued wrongful
detention of my constituent, Eyvin Hernandez, who was
imprisoned by the Venezuelan government last March. And I will
say that we need to bring him home.
I, too, want to talk about real issues that no one seems to
care about. I have four questions, and I hope you all will be
succinct because I do not have a lot of time.
So the first issue is Haiti. Assistant Administrator
Escobari, the Administration recently released a 10-year
country plan for implementation of the Global Fragility Act in
Haiti and how does Phase 1 differ from our existing efforts to
bolster Haiti security and what is the timeline to launch and
implement this part of the strategy?
Ms. Escobari. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your interest
and commitment to Haiti. The situation is terrible and
untenable. And what the GFA has allowed us to do is create this
10-year plan, understanding that the situation is continuously
changing.
The difference is really--we have always worked closely
with our interagency partners, but I think it has taken it to a
different level. We are in daily contact with INL in thinking
about how our programming can complement their support with the
Haitian National Police.
So we are about to launch an initial $12.5 million Citizen
Security Project that is part of the GFA. And the idea is for
it to really tightly complement as communities are supported by
the HNP. We can come in with youth programs and community
resources so that that piece can be maintained.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Well, it needs to be sustainable. I
mean, we have to find some partners and just commit people to
countries to standing in the gap and helping Haiti because no
one has helped Haiti since Haiti freed itself.
Okay. Moving on, abusing women. Latin America is plagued
with some of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the
world. And it's only worsened since the pandemic. And it is
especially true for migrant women.
So Assistant Secretary Noyes, how does Safe From the Start
ReVisioned differ from and improve on its predecessor version?
Ms. Valls Noyes. Thank you very much, Representative, for
that question. Safe From the Start ReVisioned is a combined
effort by the bureau that I lead together with USAID's Bureau
for Humanitarian Affairs. And what it does is focus on trying
to prevent gender-based violence from the beginning of a crisis
situation.
And the way that--and it has been quite successful the way
that ReVisioned, the updated version of the program, works is
to put more emphasis on the role of the women themselves in
determining how they need help and to give them more ability
and authority to do so. But combating gender-based violence is
a key aspect of all of our programs.
And the Chair asked about my visit to Necocli, when I was
in Necocli, I visited a program that really hit me because it
was a gender-based violence program. And I got this sticker,
which I have kept on my desk since then. And it says, in
Spanish, ``Pare. Si te ama, no te golpeara.'' Stop. If he loves
you, he will not hit you. This is what those types of programs
do. Thank you.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Thank you for that. And I notice that
there is a request in there as well, a budget request so.
Right. I am sure this is also a part of the budget request.
Ms. Valls Noyes. Absolutely. Thank you.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Yes, correct, correct.
Ms. Escobari. Just to reinforce that USAID has this as one
of our top priorities, exactly for what you said, the rates are
untenable in Latin America. And some things are not improving,
like teenage pregnancies, while they are improving everywhere
else on the globe.
So I actually, a few weeks ago while I was in Guatemala,
announced $59 million of programming on gender-based violence,
and its focus on impunity, protection, education, and improving
the judicial system as well as protecting the victims.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Great. Thank you. Use up all the time
because I only have 5 minutes.
Mr. Robinson. I just want to say INL is also involved in
programming for gender-based violence.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Okay. Great. Let's talk about the
Caribbean. People do not seem to care about the Caribbean. And
I believe that Caribbean nations have an outsized influence on
our national security but are often overlooked. Maybe it is
because folks there are brown. Assistant Secretary Nichols,
what progress has been made over the past year in realizing
PACC's 2030's commitment?
Mr. Nichols. Thank you very much for the question. Well,
tomorrow I will be traveling with the Vice President to meet
with CARICOM leaders in the Bahamas. We have increased
assistance and cooperation in the areas of energy, climate
finance, access to sustainable agricultural practices, climate
change resilience and adaptation with our Caribbean partners.
We are going to redouble that effort. We are working to ensure
that they have the tools that they need to succeed.
We are cooperating in law enforcement areas, particularly
to deal with narcotics trafficking and illicit weapons
trafficking in the region. We are working on economic
opportunity and prosperity across the region. But
interestingly, the Caribbean has the highest growth rate in the
hemisphere. Guyana is growing at about 40 percent a year over
the last year.
So this is a really exciting area. There are a lot of
challenges that we have ahead. This budget provides continued
resources to help address those, and it is vitally important.
President Biden met with Caribbean leaders during the
Summer of the Americas. The Vice President has followed-up
several times and is looking forward to traveling tomorrow.
Ms. Kamlager-Dove. Thank you. You know, Madam Chair, I did
want to ask Assistant Secretary Robinson to describe the main
challenges to combating illicit gold mining in Peru and
Colombia, but I do know that my time is up so.
Ms. Salazar. So I do not think we are going to go to a
second round, to the delight of our witnesses. We are going to,
yes, due to--we are going to end the hearing. But due to
technical difficulties, I have to recognize myself to re-
deliver my opening statement, which I am going to make shorter.
And once again, I want to thank all of you for being here
and looking forward to see you at another time in the near
future. So with your permission, I am going to--there were some
technical issues that we needed to retape or redeliver my
opening statement.
So it is my opinion that President Joe Biden has taken
every opportunity to ignore our allies in Latin America. And
I'm going to explain why with a few examples.
In May 2021, Vice President Harris challenged the United
States corporations to invest in Latin America to solve the
migration crisis. In that spirit, Ecuador requested a free
trade agreement with the United States, but they were ignored.
And to today, Ecuador is the only country on Latin America's
Pacific Coast that does not have a free trade agreement with
the United States.
Uruguay pleaded for a trade deal as well. Despite their
democratic record and strategic location, they have been
ignored up until today. As a consequence, last year both
countries took their businesses elsewhere. They took t hem to
China.
Chinese trade with Latin America has exploded from $12
billion in 2000 to almost $500 billion last year, making it
their biggest trading partner.
By contrast, the Oval Office has graciously welcomed
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, who is a socialist,
Argentina's President, Alberto Fernandez, whose VP Cristina
Kirchner is among the most corrupt politicians in South
America, and Brazil's President Lula De Silva, who was
sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption before returning
to power.
Shockingly, this Administration has denied that welcoming
gesture to conservative presidents since entering the White
House. For example, Guatemala's President Giammattei told me
personally that he felt disregarded by President Biden. We may
not like his policies, but we have to work with him.
In the Caribbean, our ally, President Abinader from the
Dominican Republic, has been overlooked despite his aggressive
anti-corruption measures.
On top of that, the White House issued a travel ban that
labeled the Dominicans racist, damaging their tourism industry
for 6 months. And when I asked Secretary Blinken to provide
evidence, nothing was presented. Thankfully, the State
Department lifted that ban.
President Biden also rejected a visit from President Nayib
Bukele of El Salvador. President Bukele inherited the most
dangerous country in Latin America. And in 3 years, he has made
it a safe haven for tourism and for investment.
Panama, a Panamanian foreign minister informed my office of
their request to buy helicopters and military vehicles from the
Biden Administration to secure the Darian Gap. Panama did not
want anything for free. They wanted tools to secure the
bottleneck between South and Central America, and they are
still waiting. I believe that ignoring our allies in Latin
America is a vacuum that is being filled by China, Russia, and
Iran.
In another case, a few days after President Biden stopped
buying oil from Russia, a top Latin American advisor in the
White House, Mr. Juan Gonzalez, got on a plane to visit
President Maduro. But at the time, Maduro was not even
recognized as the legitimate President of Venezuela and was on
the FBI's most wanted list for $50 million on his head.
We struck a deal to buy some of the dirtiest oil produced
on the planet. And I am waiting to hear complaints from
environmentalists in the Biden Administration, but they have
remained silent.
Cuba, the regime that has spread the most anti-American
poison in the last 60 years, this government has removed the
cap of remittances to give more oxygen to their repressive
apparatus. We have welcomed the Coast Guard to our military
installations. And we have sent some delegations to the island.
To add insult to injury, the Cuban regime has recently
announced that Cuban soldiers are going to be going to Russia
to be on the front lines fighting in Ukraine.
I believe that this budget does not reflect reality. Your
actions show that you have ignored key allies to the benefit of
our enemies. So now I am going to say the same short message in
Spanish for our neighbors in South America and Central America.
[Spanish language spoken.]
Ms. Salazar. Thank you, then. And now we are dismissing. So
let me read the proper--it's here, right here. No, it is in the
back, right here. All right.
So I thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony and
the members for their questions. The members of the Committee
may have some additional questions for the witnesses, and we
will ask you to respond to them in writing.
Pursuant to the Committee rules, all members may have 5
days to submit statements, questions, and extraneous materials
for the record, subject to the length limitations. Without
objection, the Committee stands adjourned. And thanks again to
all of you.
[Whereupon, at 3:27 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
APPENDIX
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