Sec. 2101. United States Strategy for Engagement in Central America
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The Secretary of State shall implement a 4-year strategy, to be known as the United States Strategy for Engagement in Central America (referred to in this subtitle as the Strategy )— to advance reforms in Central America; and to address the key factors contributing to the flight of families, unaccompanied noncitizen children, and other individuals from Central America to the United States. The Strategy shall include efforts— to strengthen democratic governance, accountability, transparency, and the rule of law; to combat corruption and impunity; to improve access to justice; to bolster the effectiveness and independence of judicial systems and public prosecutors’ offices; to improve the effectiveness of civilian police forces; to confront and counter the violence, extortion, and other crimes perpetrated by armed criminal gangs, illicit trafficking organizations, and organized crime, while disrupting recruitment efforts by such organizations; to disrupt money laundering and other illicit financial operations of criminal networks, armed gangs, illicit trafficking organizations, and human smuggling networks; to promote greater respect for internationally recognized human rights, labor rights, fundamental freedoms, and the media; to protect the human rights of environmental defenders, civil society activists, and journalists; to enhance accountability for government officials, including police and security force personnel, who are credibly alleged to have committed serious violations of human rights or other crimes; to enhance the capability of governments in Central America to protect and provide for vulnerable and at-risk populations; to address the underlying causes of poverty and inequality and the constraints to inclusive economic growth in Central America; and to prevent and respond to endemic levels of sexual, gender-based, and domestic violence.
In implementing the Strategy, the Secretary of State shall— coordinate with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary, the Attorney General, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Development Finance Corporation; and consult with the Director of National Intelligence, national and local civil society organizations in Central America and the United States, and the governments of Central America.
To the degree feasible, the Strategy shall support or complement efforts being carried out by the Governments of El Salvador, of Guatemala, and of Honduras, in coordination with bilateral and multilateral donors and partners, including the Inter-American Development Bank.