© Jorge Cabrera / ReutersRiot police guard the entrance of Honduras Central Bank as supporters of opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla burn tires during a march to protest against the results of Honduras' general elections in Tegucigalpa, Honduras January 7, 2018.
As tens of thousands gather at our southern border, roiling US politics, the question arises: why are so many of the asylum-seekers and migrants crossing the border illegally from three Central American countries in particular: El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala?
To begin with,
it's no coincidence that these are the three "most invaded" countries south of the Rio Grande - that is, invaded by the United States and its proxies.The Reagan years saw the apex of US intervention in the region, with fear of Communist "infiltration" motivating massive US aid to local despots and right-wing death squads throughout Central and South America: the fear of Cuban and Soviet influence drove US policy. In El Salvador, a raging civil war between rightist landowners and a leftist insurgency cost tens of thousands of lives and billions in lost income. In Guatemala, with a long history of US support to a callous and violent elite, a 36-year civil war between conservative landowners and Communist-led guerrillas devastated the country. Honduras is the scene of a recent US-backed coup, and also of a short story by O. Henry wherein the phrase "
banana republic" was coined. A more appropriate phrase describing this Central American country could hardly be imagined, what with bananas looming large as the national product and source of wealth, and lots of political intrigue - periodic coups, assassinations, incredible corruption, all of it presided over by the warlords of Washington and their corporate favorites.
So what are these "refugees" fleeing? Is it so bad that parents are justified in paying smugglers to guide their underage children - traveling alone! - across the US-Mexican border?
Comment: Entanglement: Even if the US forges ahead on its own agenda, taking care of business, patching up the leaks and flaws in international relations, the subsequent spillover of goodwill and benefits will still, unfortunately, positively affect the UK. Sigh.