El Salvador lobbies for US goodwill

Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of El Salvador Hugo Martinez is seeking common ground with the US to address the challenges of gang violence and irregular migration. It's in both countries' interests to address the violence that stems from MS-13 and other gangs, and to address the causes and consequences of irregular migration.

We were the first country to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which has removed trade barriers and boosted trade with the United States. Notably, the U.S. has a trade surplus with El Salvador of $466 million, supplying us with nearly 40 percent of our imports.

Martinez highlights the ways in which the US-Salvadoran relationship is "mutually beneficial" even though he seems to have moved away from the partnership language of the Obama years. Instead, the FMLN definitely seem to be tugging at President Trump's heartstrings. They are crafting language that should appeal to this US president in ways that they never would have done for previous US presidents. During the Bush years, El Salvador emphasized that it was a partner in the war on terror. They sent troops to Iraq to fight alongside the US.

During the Obama years, there was more of an emphasis on democracy and shared challenges. Now, we have the leftist FMLN highlighting how it has a trade deficit with the US because of CAFTA, a free trade agreement of which the FMLN has been highly critical.