Global Negligence Towards Haiti & Guatemalan Crime

A Council on Hemispheric Affairs Press Release

"The Rock in the Sun": Haiti’s Préval Pleads For the U.S. and Rest of the World to End Global Negligence Towards Latin America’s Poorest Country

On February 5, Haitian president René Préval arrived in Washington carrying a desperate message in his pocket. In it, he requested emergency aid from the United States for as much as $100 million. Préval met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, officials at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and congressional leaders. Secretary Clinton vowed to consider his request but said that she could not make any promises. Already, the U.S. gives $250 million annually in mostly humanitarian aid to NGOs working in Haiti; Préval insists that the humanitarian support would be more beneficial for the country if it went directly to the Haitian government where it could fill a budget gap. Clinton said, "We want to be working with them [Haitians] as the y continue to build a vibrant democracy and a growing economy." But with a mounting economic crisis plaguing much of the world, including the United States, Préval’s plea comes at a most inopportune time. The question now is will the new Obama administration further assist Haiti, or will it proceed with a 200-year-old pattern of inadequate response to the island’s crushing needs?

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate David Rosenblum Felson

Guatemala - Central American Crime Capital

During his 2007 presidential campaign Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom Caballeros was well aware of the crime epidemic that afflicted the country and the lack of effective existing security. The security situation has now become so grave that the Guatemala Times has reported that "already the villages, who suffered the most during the civil war by the hands of the military, are asking the military to come back and establish military bases to 'protect' the people." With little more than a year in office, and marred by high crime rates and major security dilemmas, Colom has made a concerted, but largely lackluster effort to improve upon Guatemala’s security problems, pledging to tackle them head-on.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Maya Wilson

Monday, February 09, 2009 | Press release 09.104

ENDS

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