US sanctions another prominent Haitian politician

The Washington Watch is our weekly update on key developments in bilateral relations between the United States of America and Latin American countries. Please find today’s article below.

Haiti

On 5 April US Secretary of State?Antony Blinken?announced visa restrictions and financial sanctions against former president of Haiti’s lower chamber of deputies?Gary Bodeau?(2018-2020) for?“his involvement in corruption”.?As well as visa restrictions which render Bodeau ineligible for entry into the US, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) also designated him under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme, as a result of which his financial assets in the US have been blocked. According to Ofac, Bodeau was involved in several corrupt schemes in which?“he engaged in efforts to influence the outcome of Haitian political appointments, including facilitating and soliciting bribes worth millions of dollars”.?These include paying officials to secure votes while he sought ministerial position appointments, and soliciting a bribery payment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from senior government officials in exchange for his political support in 2018. The Treasury also states Bodeau offered to deliver a successful vote in the lower chamber for a prospective ministerial appointee in 2019 in exchange for millions of dollars paid out by businessmen through individual payments to deputies. As well as Bodeau, who has also been sanctioned by Canada, the US has designated?other prominent Haitian?politicians, former senators?Rony?Célestin?and?Richard Lenine Hervé Fourcand,?last year.

Chile

On 5 April, US Secretary of State?Antony Blinken?had a phone call with Chile’s Foreign Minister?Alberto van Klaveren. The conversation, which was the first diplomatic call with the US since Van Klaveren became foreign minister on 10 March, recognised 200 years of bilateral diplomacy and cooperation between the two countries, and commemorated 20 years since the two countries signed a free trade agreement. The key topics addressed during the call were immigration, equitable regional economic growth, commitment to cooperation on democracy and human rights issues, and combatting the climate crisis, specifically US and Chilean investments in renewable energy and green hydrogen. Blinken also acknowledged Chile’s consistent condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ecuador

On 10 April Ecuador’s President?Guillermo Lasso?met US Senators?Bob Menendez?(D-NJ),?Tim Kaine?(D-VA), and Representative?Tony Cárdenas?(D-CA) at the presidential palace to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation. Topics included development, security, migration, and investment. According to a press release issued by Ecuador’s presidential office, a key issue addressed in the meeting was “defence of democracy”. Lasso affirmed that Ecuador will always “defend the principles and values of liberal democracy”, while Menendez asserted that the US will always “support the democratic leaders that share our values”. During the meeting, officials also discussed the importance of cooperation in addressing drug trafficking and other related crimes; Menendez stressed that the US is “expanding cooperation between justice and law enforcement systems” to tackle such crimes. Ecuador’s foreign minister,?Gustavo Manrique, who was present at the meeting, spoke of the creation of jobs and opportunities as a way to disincentivise organised transnational crime. The two countries also agreed on the need to promote trade and investment as tools for development.?

Mexico

On 5 April, Mexico’s President?Andrés Manuel López Obrador?defended former US president?Donald Trump?(2017-2021) concerning the 34 felony charges he is facing for allegedly falsifying business records during his 2016 presidential campaign. López Obrador stated that, in his view,?“legal issues should not be used for political-electoral purposes”?and that he did not agree with what was happening to Trump.?He said this was similar to what had happened to Peru’s former president?Pedro Castillo?(2021-2022), who was?impeached and arrested?in December. He also said he had faced a similar legal challenge prior to Mexico’s 2006 presidential race,?“because they did not want me to appear on the ballot as a candidate for the presidency”.?This refers to when López Obrador, who at the time was the mayor of Mexico City, was subjected to legal proceedings prior to Mexico’s 2006 elections. He has since condemned this as a political move orchestrated by former President?Vicente Fox?(Partido Acción Nacional [PAN], 2000-2006), in order to prevent him from running as a presidential candidate. López Obrador ultimately narrowly lost out to PAN’s?Felipe Calderón?in the 2006 presidential race, in a vote count that he maintains - without basis - was fraudulent. This is not the first time López Obrador has come out in defence of Trump, calling for his Twitter account to be reactivated following his removal from the platform in 2021, and he had a friendly relationship with the Trump administration?despite Trump’s antagonistic rhetoric towards Mexico and Mexicans.

Articles in this issue:

• BRAZIL: Lula inks agreements with China’s Xi
• COLOMBIA: Dissident Farc alliance announces peace talks with gov’t
• In brief: Ecuador registers trade surplus despite oil slump
• In brief: Slow start to the year for Brazil’s services sector
• EL SALVADOR: Rights groups condemn leading media outlet’s ‘exile’
• In brief: Nicaragua and China announce energy, housing cooperation
• MEXICO: US indictments target fentanyl trafficking
• In brief: Mexico’s environment ministry backs mining reforms
• ARGENTINA: Surprise result in first provincial election
• In brief: Argentina continues to battle with rising inflation

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