Limited progress against corruption in the Northern Triangle

Christine Wade has a new post on the World Politics Review in which she takes stock of corruption developments in Central America's Northern Triangle in 2016.

As Central America demonstrates, there is no single formula in the fight against corruption. While CICIG has proven to be successful in investigating and prosecuting high-ranking officials in Guatemala, MACCIH is off to a slow start in Honduras. In the absence of a similar international commission in El Salvador, its new attorney general has pursued corruption cases with vigor, demonstrating the importance of political will in this ongoing battle. Whether this progress against graft will continue into 2017 is a test for all three countries.

Like so many other years is seems, 2016 was a transitional year for the Northern Triangle. Guatemala made numerous arrests in 2015, including those of the former vice-president and president. The investigations and legal proceeding continued last year. Criminal networks have adjusted to the new reality and continue to try to impede the development of a true rule of law.

Honduras agreed to the creation of MACCIH. People had low expectations for MACCIH, as it was a watered-down version of Guatemala's CICIG. Perhaps MACCIH has met people's low expectations, which isn't really great news.

El Salvador had a new attorney general. There's good reason to be skeptical but I think we have to be cautiously optimistic about some recent developments.

There was some progress in each country last year, perhaps less than people would have hoped. I still think that the jury is out. While difficult because people's lives are at stake and the conditions are so dire, we need to think in terms of four-to-five year windows.