U.S. to unveil human trafficking steps; Harris visits Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) - The United States is expected today to announce steps to tackle human trafficking and smuggling in Guatemala, a senior U.S. official said, as Vice President Kamala Harris visits the region to try to lower migration from Central America’s Northern Triangle countries.

Harris’ trip to Guatemala and Mexico this week is likely to emphasize cooperation with non-government organizations, amid some criticism from local officials over the timing and thrust of her mission to curb migration to the United States from the region, advisers and experts said.

The focus on civil society could be a sore point in Mexico, which sent a diplomatic note to Washington in May complaining about U.S. support for a group that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador considers to be part of the political opposition.

Speaking as Harris flew to Guatemala, a senior U.S. official said that in addition to announcing the steps to combat human trafficking, the Biden administration hoped on Monday to unveil anti-corruption measures in the Central American nation.

The vice president’s first overseas trip since taking office, which began on Sunday, will focus on economic development, climate and food insecurity and women’s issues, White House officials say.

Harris’s advisers said she will meet community leaders, workers and entrepreneurs, and have sought to lower shortterm expectations from the three-day trip, highlighting her focus on root causes for migration such as corruption that have plagued the countries for years.

Harris landed in Guatemala on Sunday and was to fly to Mexico on Tuesday where she will spend the day.

“This trip is not about having a fully fleshed out plan for the region...but hopefully understanding what the direction is,” Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, who participated in a meeting Harris convened about problems in the region.

A key measure of success for Harris’s trip will be whether she can show that the United States cares about creating legal pathways for migration from the region, Selee said.