El Salvador - US Relations
US-Salvadoran relations remain close and strong. US policy toward El Salvador promotes the strengthening of El Salvador's democratic institutions, rule of law, judicial reform, national reconciliation and reconstruction, and economic opportunity and growth. El Salvador was a committed member of the coalition of nations fighting against terrorism and sent 11 rotations of troops to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 through 2008.
As the civil conflict intensified after 1981 and its effects rippled through the economic and political life of the nation, El Salvador turned toward the United States in an effort to stave off a potential guerrilla victory. The administrations of presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan responded to the Salvadorans' appeals, and by the mid-1980s government forces appeared to have the upper hand in the field. Total United States aid to El Salvador rose from US$264.2 million in fiscal year (FY) 1982 to an estimated US$557.8 million in FY 1987. On average over this period, economic aid exceeded military aid by more than a two-to-one ratio. Economic aid was provided in the form of Economic Support Funds (ESF), food aid under Public Law 480 (P.L. 480), and development aid administered by the United States Agency for International Development (AID). ESF was intended to provide balance of payments support to finance essential non-food imports. Assistance with food imports as well as the direct donation of foodstuffs was accomplished through the P.L. 480 program. Development aid covered a broad spectrum of projects in such fields as agriculture, population planning, health, education, and training. For FY 1987, regular non- supplemental ESF appropriations totaled US$181.7 million, and combined food and development aid amounted to US$122.7 million. The regular FY 1987 appropriation for military aid was US$116.5 million. This aid was crucial to the survival of the Salvadoran government and the ability of the armed forces to contain the insurgency.
The situation amplified the personal importance of Duarte after his 1984 election to the presidency. Well known and respected in Washington, Duarte was able to foster a consensus within the United States Congress for high levels of aid as a show of support for the incipient democratic process in his country. These large aid allocations, in turn, promoted stability by deterring possible coup attempts by conservative factions of the military and other opponents of PDC rule. At the same time, the lifeline of aid also rendered El Salvador dependent to a large degree on the United States. A certain amount of popular resentment over this dependence was reflected in adverse reaction from some Salvadoran politicians, journalists, and other opinion makers to Duarte' s October 1987 gesture of kissing the United States flag while on a visit to Washington. Some analysts also identified an element of anti-United States sentiment in Arena's March 1988 electoral victory.
El Salvador's dependence on United States support sometimes led to policy moves or public pronouncements that were perceived as responses to pressure from Washington. The 1986 economic austerity measures were one example. Another was Duarte 's repeated call for the Nicaraguan government to negotiate with its armed opposition—the so-called contras—in spite of the president's public refusal to endorse the United States policy of aid to the contras. El Salvador also was quick to condemn Panamanian strongman General Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno for his February 1988 ouster of President Eric Arturo Delvalle; most Latin American countries were somewhat circumspect with regard to the Panamanian situation, not wishing to be seen as favoring United States intervention in that country. Some actions by the Salvadoran government were clearly and unequivocally influenced by direct United States pressure.
The US and Salvadoran Governments cooperate closely to combat narcotics trafficking and organized crime. El Salvador hosts the International Law Enforcement Academy, which provides training to police, prosecutors, and other officials from across the Latin American region. El Salvador’s Air Force installation near Comalapa Airport houses a monitoring facility that surveils narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and El Salvador’s National Civilian Police jointly operate the Transnational Anti-Gang unit, which addresses the growing problem of street gangs in both countries. In January 2009, the U.S. and El Salvador signed letters of agreement committing both countries to work jointly under the Merida Initiative to fight crime and drug trafficking.
In March 2011, President Obama visited San Salvador, affirming the United States' continued commitment to fight narco-trafficking and related violence in El Salvador and the Central American region. El Salvador will continue to receive funds through the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)--implemented in 2008--to increase public security and law enforcement as well as support economic and social development.
U.S. ties to El Salvador are dynamic and growing. More than 19,000 American citizens live and work full-time in El Salvador. Most are private business people and their families, but a small number of American citizen retirees have been drawn to El Salvador by favorable tax conditions. The Embassy's consular section provides a full range of citizenship services to this community.
In her first radio interview in El Salvador in 2016, Ambassador Jean Elizabeth Manes reiterated the White House’s support for the Northern Triangle and efforts to create opportunities for Salvadorans. “We have to work on security, but we have to create opportunities for the youth also,” the Ambassador said on Radio102nueve’s highly rated morning talk show, “A Primera Hora” (“At the First Hour”), hosted by Diana Veronica Ramos and Tony Cabezas. On security, Ambassador Manes spoke of the work in support of the Salvadoran Government and the public security officers under the “El Salvador Seguro Plan.” “I am happy to see all the agreements reached by the political parties in the last two months regarding security,” she said.
President Sanchez Cerén, who took office on June 1, 2014, was a rural school teach and leader in the teacher's union in his youth, fought with the rebels during El Salvador's 12-year civil war (1980 to 1992) and served as a negotiator in the 1992 peace accords. Immediately prior to his election, he served as Vice President of El Salvador. The U.S. government and its European allies worked with the right wing opposition in El Salvador to undermine the Frente Farabundo Martí government under President Sánchez Cerén. As soon as El Salvador’s new government under Frente Farabundo Martí President Sánchez Cerén began to implement socialist inspired policies, the Salvadoran right wing and its North American and European allies went into overdrive to block funding for his government's programs.
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