Interview:

•     Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
•     Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Panelists:

•     Alejandro Alemán, Professor of Practice and Governance Lead, Perry Center/CHDS, National Defense University
•     Eric Olson, Director, Central America-DC Platform, Seattle International Foundation 
•     Kristin Tennyson, Director, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Foreign Service Institute 
•     Nick Miroff, Reporter, The Washington Post (moderator)

A scarcity of economic opportunities, poor governance, and insecurity are all factors driving Central Americans to leave their countries in hopes of a better life in Mexico and the United States. A panel of experts at an AS/COA in Washington, DC, discussed the best ways to address the root causes of the migratory wave and the prospects for a U.S.-Mexico partnership to rectify the situation. For such a deal to come to fruition, both countries will need common objectives, said Alejandro Alemán, adding that the new Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would also have to be willing to make migration a domestic issue rather than one of foreign policy.

Before the panel, COA’s Eric Farnsworth interviewed U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan about the current situation at the border and what comes next. McAleenan laid out how to address emigration from Central America and depoliticize the issue to continue a long history of partnership with Mexico on border security.

Speakers

• José Adán Aguerri, President, COSEP Nicaragua
• José González Campo, President, FEDEPRICAP Guatemala
• Aida de Maduro, Vice President, FEDEPRICAP; former President and Member of the Board, CONEP Panama
• Antonio Mora, Latin American Affairs Analyst; former Network News Anchor (moderador)

Business leaders from across Central America discuss how the private sector can bolster current efforts to fight corruption at the same time as industries contribute to economic prosperity. At the second panel of an event hosted by the Council of the Americas in Washington, panelists talked about recent improvements in Guatemalan institutions and regulations, efforts to modernize borders among countries to facilitate trade flow, as well as the need to align common interests between the private sector and government to improve infrastructure and security. 

• Watch the first panel with legal experts about rule of law in Central America.

Speakers

• Claudia Escobar, Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy; former Guatemalan Court of Appeals Magistrate
• Kristin Tennyson, Chair, Western Hemisphere Area Studies, U.S. Foreign Service Institute
• Donald J. Planty, Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group; former U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (Moderator)

When corruption is present, there is no strong rule of law, explained Claudia Escobar, a former Guatemalan Court of Appeals Magistrate, adding: "There is a fight against corruption, but the system is still the same." Judge Escobar was joined by a former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala and a Latin American expert in a Council of the Americas event in Washingon to discuss the impendiments to strengthening rule of law in Central America because. Panelists also addressed the history of other countries such as Spain and Chile as models for battling impunity.

• Watch the second panel discussion about the role of the private sector in improving the rule of law in Central America.