“This is a big f---ing deal.”

Alberto Font/The Tico Times

The US Embassy in Guatemala has announced that Vice President Joe “This is a big f---ing deal” Biden will attend the swearing in ceremony of Jimmy Morales on January 14th. VP Biden's visit makes sense in that he has been the administration's front man in addressing the unaccompanied minors and other refugees crisis from Guatemala and the rest of the Northern Triangle, including the passage of a $750 million aid package.

Maybe I am reading too much into the selection of Biden, but the aid package and the VP's presence at the inauguration are clear signals that this administration will work with the Guatemalan government on issues of mutual concern. While many of us have concerns with Morales' links to retired military members who were engaged in the country's counterinsurgency program, the White House must be relatively satisfied with the shaping of the new government. Perhaps it's also a thank you for putting us with our less than satisfactory response to migration from Guatemala.

I haven't looked at this systematically in any way so it is all anecdotal, but the US sent a strong message to El Salvador with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's attendance at Mauricio Funes' inauguration in 2009 (El Salvador reaffirms ties with the US?). As Mr. Trump would say, that (along with President Obama's subsequent visit) was a huge mistake signal that the US was interested in a fruitful relationship with the FMLN.

Two years later, the administration sent another strong signal to the region and President Otto Perez Molina when its delegation to his inauguration included Aaron S. Williams (Director of the Peace Corps), Arnold A. Chacon (US Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala), Mary L. Landrieu (US Senator, Louisiana), and Mark Feierstein (USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean). The contingent was nothing to sneeze at and in many ways made very good sense, but it clearly was not the Secretary of State. If I remember correctly, Perez was not all that thrilled with the contingent.

Even though some would refer to Perez as a US ally, I don't get the impression that the US ever embraced him. Our relationship could not have gotten any better when minutes after his inauguration he announced interest in decriminalizing various illicit drugs (Decriminalising drugs in the Western hemisphere).

But, then again, maybe I am just reading a little too much into VP Biden's selection.