White House backs down in dispute with El Salvador
Earlier this year, the White House appears to have overruled its foreign service experts who warned that terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was neither in the interests of the United States nor in the interests of the people of the Northern Triangle, specifically those of Honduras and El Salvador.
Not that long ago, the White House appears to have wanted to punish El Salvador because it switched its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China. Panama and the Dominican Republic had recently shifted their diplomatic recognition as well, but it was El Salvador that bore the brunt of the United States' displeasure. El Salvador switched its recognition even after John Bolton warned President Salvador Sanchez Ceren not to do so.
Fortunately, the White House was more receptive to warnings about how punishing El Salvador would create a host of negative consequences for the United States and probably the people of that country as well, arguments that did not resonate when TPS was terminated.
Sanchez Ceren and El Salvador might have been less inclined to work with the United States on migration, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, and a whole range of other issues had they been unfairly punished for switching their diplomatic relations. Unfairly because no other country was threatened in the same way.
I'm not sure what the takeaway from this exchange is. Did the FMLN and El Salvador get a one-time reprieve for going against the United States' orders? Or is the we are too valuable to the United States for them consider cutting off assistance really a trump card to be played over and over? What do they think of John Bolton now? He had to back down from one of his first threatening acts as National Security Adviser. How credible should they perceive future threats from him? What have other regional countries learned from this altercation?
Not that long ago, the White House appears to have wanted to punish El Salvador because it switched its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China. Panama and the Dominican Republic had recently shifted their diplomatic recognition as well, but it was El Salvador that bore the brunt of the United States' displeasure. El Salvador switched its recognition even after John Bolton warned President Salvador Sanchez Ceren not to do so.
In a blistering statement, the White House said Mr. Sánchez’s decision affected “the economic health and security of the entire Americas region.”
“The El Salvadoran government’s receptiveness to China’s apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a re-evaluation of our relationship with El Salvador,” the statement said.Some Republicans clearly wanted to take a tough stand against El Salvador because the country is led by a leftist leader they have never liked. Others, however, wanted to stand up for US ally Taiwan in its battle against US trading partner China.
Fortunately, the White House was more receptive to warnings about how punishing El Salvador would create a host of negative consequences for the United States and probably the people of that country as well, arguments that did not resonate when TPS was terminated.
Sanchez Ceren and El Salvador might have been less inclined to work with the United States on migration, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, and a whole range of other issues had they been unfairly punished for switching their diplomatic relations. Unfairly because no other country was threatened in the same way.
I'm not sure what the takeaway from this exchange is. Did the FMLN and El Salvador get a one-time reprieve for going against the United States' orders? Or is the we are too valuable to the United States for them consider cutting off assistance really a trump card to be played over and over? What do they think of John Bolton now? He had to back down from one of his first threatening acts as National Security Adviser. How credible should they perceive future threats from him? What have other regional countries learned from this altercation?
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