U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

Subcommittee News

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

ENGEL PRAISES OBAMA FOR UPCOMING TRIP TO LATIN AMERICA

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, spoke at a hearing of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and said he was pleased that President Obama would be travelling to the region next month. He also praised the establishment of a new Western Hemisphere Security Coordinator.

President Obama's visit to the Western Hemisphere next month "will help demonstrate that the Administration sees our region as vitally important to the United States," Engel said.

Following the hearing, Engel said: "Establishment of the Western Hemisphere Security Coordinator is an excellent step forward, and I'd like to thank Secretary of State Clinton and Assistant Secretary Valenzuela for supporting my initiative. This new post will help bring together various efforts at the State Department to fight trafficking in illegal drugs and gang violence. With Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson in this position, I know there will be a strong and competent hand to integrate and track our security-oriented initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Text of statement follows:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. . .well, that’s going to take some getting used to. You see, for the last two years, our roles were reversed. Mr. Mack served as Ranking Member and I as Chairman. While I’m certainly not happy the Democrats lost their majority in the House, I am glad that I will have the honor of working with my good friend, Connie Mack, again. He cares deeply about the Western Hemisphere, and I wish him well as he assumes the gavel.

As the leaders of our country look around the world and analyze the challenges our nation faces, they often point to the never-ending array of crises in the Middle East, Asia, or elsewhere. While these areas receive the most attention from the world’s media, they are certainly no more important to United States national interests than what happens in Latin America.

The United States is geographically closer to Latin America and the Caribbean. Millions of recent immigrants are from this region. Most of our imported energy is from Canada and several countries in the hemisphere. In fact, from illicit narcotics to cultural influences to so many other areas, the Western Hemisphere remains critical to the United States.

That is why I am glad that next month President Obama will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador. These visits will help demonstrate that the Administration sees our region as vitally important to the United States.

His first stop, Brazil, is in so many ways like the United States. It is a very large, very diverse democracy. I have long been of the belief that U.S. and Brazilian interests converge on a wide array of issues, and I was disappointed with some of the choices of the Lula government which led to a cooling of our relations. However, there are already signs that that under the new government of Dilma Rousseff, U.S.-Brazilian relations are on the mend. This is very encouraging.

Chile will be the second stop on President Obama’s regional excursion. 2010 was quite a year for Chile. It experienced a terrible earthquake from which Chile is still rebuilding and lived through a mine cave-in from which the miners emerged almost miraculously after more than two months underground. Our relationship with Chile is already quite close and mature, and the President’s visit can only further solidify these strong bonds.

Finally, President Obama will stop in El Salvador, a key country in Central America. In the 1980’s, El Salvador was the site of a terrible civil war, but, today, that fight has long ended and the Salvadoran people live in a democracy. However, significant challenges still face El Salvador. Drug trafficking, criminal gangs, high unemployment, and a soaring murder rate make life in El Salvador difficult. President Funes is charting a center-left course and, in the face of pressure, wants to continue historically close ties with the United States. I attended President Funes' inauguration, and I’m glad our President will be there to support him.

Still in Central America, I believe we need to work hard to return Honduras to the OAS. It's time to stop keeping them out.

Not only am I Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, but I also represent large populations of people whose heritage is in Latin America and the Caribbean in my New York congressional district. Spring Valley, in Rockland County, is home to many Haitians and Haitian Americans. They were and are profoundly affected by the cataclysmic earthquake which struck Haiti. I have been proud to support them as they seek to support their loved ones. It is critical that our Subcommittee stays focused on rebuilding Haiti in the weeks and months ahead.

I have long been critical of the Castro regime in Cuba. I remain of the belief that we must keep the pressure on for democracy to take hold there.

Every day, stories fill our newspapers and our TVs about the horrors which drug criminals are inflicting upon Mexico and Central America. While every circumstance stands on its own, we have seen this before, and we know that a country which stands up to the traffickers can emerge even stronger. After more than a decade of murders, kidnappings, and war, our ally, Colombia, finally has gotten the upper hand against the FARC, while the acreage under coca cultivation has dropped substantially.

President Santos, whose inauguration I was honored to participate, is today working to help Colombia’s dispossessed, its Afro-Colombian population, and others facing challenges, and he and Colombia deserve the strong support of the United States.

I must say, however, how disappointed I am that the Republican majority allowed the Andean Trade Preferences to expire on Saturday. ATPA is critical to our friends in Colombia, and we shouldn’t play political games with it.

As we worked with Colombia, we must work with Mexico and the countries of Central America to strengthen security forces and enhance justice systems. These countries are facing a difficult challenge and they deserve our backing. At the same time, there is more we can do here at home to help our neighbors fight narco-crime. We should tighten up at the borders, slow gun trafficking, and do more to reduce demand for illegal drugs.

Four years ago, when I just started as Chairman of this Subcommittee, one thing quickly became clear to me. We had multiple programs to help fight narco-trafficking, but they were not integrated. When I raised this with the State Department, it was never clear who was in charge or how the efforts were integrated. I inserted language in the House-passed Merida legislation to create a Security Coordinator to oversee and make sure our efforts meshed.

One year ago, Chairman Mack and I met with Secretary of State Clinton and urged her to create this Security Coordinator for the Western Hemisphere which I had proposed. I am looking forward to Secretary Valenzuela’s testimony today and hope that he might discuss this important issue.

Again, I would like to wish my good friend Connie Mack the best of luck as he begins his term as Chairman and look forward to continuing our close collaboration in this Subcommittee.