SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The following statement was made by Cris Arcos, Former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras and AT&T Corporation Vice President and Managing Director for International Public Affairs for Latin America and Canada. President Obama’s administration recently allotted $337 million to aid the region of Central America and address the crisis of the large volume of undocumented Central American children who have come into the U.S. in the past months without accompaniment of an adult. The United States government should support Central American governments who have an effective policy for the eradication of corruption and the undue influence of organized crime, which is currently the largest obstacle for the social and economic development of countries like Guatemala.
Emigration of Central American individuals into the U.S., especially that of children and youth, is a result of the lack security and the violence that they face. Cartels – and the politicians that join them – not only create insecurity in these countries, but also limit the basic development and growth opportunities for these youth, such as limited access to Internet and technology.
For example, on April 25, 2014, the Guatemalan government implemented the Law of Control of Mobile Telecommunications in Prisons and Strengthening of the Data Infrastructure, which was approved by the National Congress of Guatemala in response to the illicit transactions and extortion acts that have been generated in the country since the implementation of the General Telecommunications Law in 1996.
However, the new law is under attack by certain groups that benefit from the corruption in the country. Opposition by municipalities is due to the establishment of fixed fees that eliminate arbitrary charges by the local authorities. Even worse is the opposition by cartels against the measures established by the new legislation that demand mobile phone service operators to implement solutions that prevent the access to this type of telecommunications inside prisons. According to reported data, 93 percent of the extortions that affect citizens originate inside the country’s prisons, taking advantage of the benefits offered by mobile phone services. In the long run, this law will help decrease the monetary power and undue influence of various corrupt groups in the country, helping to overcome one of the biggest problems of the region.
In its totality, the new Law of Control of Mobile Telecommunications in Prisons and Strengthening of the Data Infrastructure will generate security in the country in addition to promoting the progress of Guatemala in the telecommunications field. Some of its greatest benefits will be the installation of security cameras throughout the country for the improvement of its preventive security and the implementation of Internet in schools for educational purposes, decreasing the great digital inequality that can be currently observed in the country. Several telecommunications companies have expressed their interest in investing in the expansion of systems and infrastructures of that sector, which was not possible before because of the large levels of corruption in the sector.
These types of laws allow the development of the necessary infrastructure to create economic opportunities in the country, while simultaneously helping to reduce the lack of security and the violence that push immigration of numerous Central Americans to the U.S. in search of safety and a better future. For this reason, the United States government should pay more attention to countries like Guatemala, that too often find themselves with their hands tied due to the levels of corruption that have managed to infiltrate certain sectors of their society; and support their initiatives for the development of the country.
About Cris Arcos
Ambassador Cresencio (Cris) Arcos has had a prestigious career, which involves many senior positions in and out of government. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush named him U.S. Ambassador to Honduras. The last position of his diplomatic career was as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. Previously, he was AT&T Corporation Vice President and Managing Director for International Public Affairs for Latin America and Canada for market access, regulatory framework, business development and fair competition.
