Blinken noted in his statement that “transfers under the US-Guatemala Asylum Cooperation Agreement have been interrupted since mid-March 2020 due to COVID-19, and the agreements with El Salvador and Honduras have never been implemented”.
The United States’ top diplomat called the decision to suspend the Asylum Cooperation Agreements with the three nations of the North Triangle as “the first concrete steps on the road to greater partnership and collaboration in the region defined by President (Joe) Biden.”
“In line with the president’s view, we have notified the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that the United States is taking this action as efforts begin to establish a cooperative and mutually respectful approach to managing migration in the region” , said Blinken in a statement.
“The Biden government believes that there are more appropriate ways to work with our partner governments to manage migration across the region,” he said. “The United States will develop our solid relationships and support these governments’ efforts to address forced displacement without overburdening them, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our approach will continue to provide support for their national action plans under Regional Protection Comprehensive and Solution Framework through international humanitarian partners. “
This is a last-minute story and will be updated.