{ "id": "R43616", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R43616", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "retrieved": "2020-09-07T12:22:29.626046", "id": "R43616_30_2020-07-01", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2020-07-01_R43616_ba93a57e6fb2452cb7b658191831c405e9055e1b.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43616/30", "sha1": "ba93a57e6fb2452cb7b658191831c405e9055e1b" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2020-07-01_R43616_ba93a57e6fb2452cb7b658191831c405e9055e1b.html" } ], "date": "2020-07-01", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R43616", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 603629, "date": "2019-08-14", "retrieved": "2019-08-14T22:13:13.857873", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has had significant interest in El Salvador, a small Central American nation that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s counterinsurgency efforts against the leftist Farabundo Mart\u00ed National Liberation Front (FMLN). The United States later supported a 1992 peace accord that ended the conflict and transformed the FMLN into a political party. Despite periodic tensions, the United States worked with two consecutive FMLN administrations (2009-2019), but bilateral efforts were unable to prevent significant outflows of migrants from the country. \nDomestic Situation\nOn June 1, 2019, Nayib Bukele, a 37-year-old businessman and former mayor of San Salvador, took office for a five-year presidential term. Bukele won 53% of the vote in the February 2019 election, standing for the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) party. Elected on an anti-corruption platform, Bukele is the first president in 30 years to be elected without the backing of the conservative National Republic Alliance (ARENA) or the FMLN parties. Bukele succeeded Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n (FMLN), who presided over a period of moderate economic growth (averaging 2.3%), ongoing security challenges, and political polarization.\nPresident Bukele has promised to reduce crime and attract investment, but his lack of support in the National Assembly (GANA has 11 of 84 seats) could present challenges. Bukele has proposed infrastructure projects that could help the country take better advantage of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR); critics question how these projects will be financed. Bukele has criticized repressive governments in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Honduras. During a July 2019 visit with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, President Bukele vowed to improve relations with the United States by working bilaterally to address gangs, drugs, and immigration and seeking investment rather than U.S. assistance.\nU.S. Policy\nU.S. policy in El Salvador has focused on promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance under the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. Congress has appropriated nearly $2.6 billion for the strategy since FY2016, at least $410 million of which has been allocated to El Salvador. The Trump Administration has requested $445 million for the strategy in FY2020, including at least $45.7 million for El Salvador, and an unspecified amount allocated for the country under the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). \nFuture U.S. engagement in El Salvador is uncertain, however, as the Administration announced in March 2019 that it intended to end foreign assistance programs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras due to continued unauthorized U.S-bound migration. In June 2019, the Administration identified FY2017 and FY2018 bilateral and regional funds subject to withholding or reprogramming. It is unclear how funds appropriated for FY2019 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) and FY2020 funds may be affected. Bilateral relations also have been tested by shifts in U.S. immigration policies, including the Trump Administration\u2019s decision to rescind the temporary protected status (TPS) designation that has shielded up to 250,000 Salvadorans from removal since 2001. A House-passed bill, H.R. 6, would allow certain TPS designees to apply for permanent resident status. \nThe 116th Congress could influence the future of U.S. policy toward El Salvador. Legislative initiatives that have been introduced\u2014including House-passed H.R. 2615, as well as S. 1445, and H.R. 2836/S. 7181\u2014would authorize foreign assistance for certain activities in Central America. Congress may consider initiatives to prevent the Administration from reprogramming FY2019 funds as it considers the Administration\u2019s FY2020 budget request. The House-passed FY2020 minibu H.R. 2740s, , would appropriate $540.9 million for the Central America strategy, including at least $45.7 million for El Salvador and additional funding for the country under CARSI. \nSee also CRS Report R44812, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress, by Peter J. Meyer.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "0e706065dcb1c174057f0e5f1ce707670baadc08", "filename": "files/20190814_R43616_0e706065dcb1c174057f0e5f1ce707670baadc08.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190814_R43616_images_1276cddb5a58c965d37fa99f833ff0e37fe1259b.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190814_R43616_images_0e5725ca245b2c6f75f3bfc1b898645aa7913c26.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190814_R43616_images_25fa4fd2fa662567e04f2df0d007ebb6889fbc5e.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "a2ae5e0cdd2f33e19618797408c562aebdba8a9c", "filename": "files/20190814_R43616_a2ae5e0cdd2f33e19618797408c562aebdba8a9c.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 603548, "date": "2019-08-12", "retrieved": "2019-08-13T22:06:37.544092", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has had significant interest in El Salvador, a small Central American nation that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s counterinsurgency efforts against the leftist Farabundo Mart\u00ed National Liberation Front (FMLN). The United States later supported a 1992 peace accord that ended the conflict and transformed the FMLN into a political party. Despite periodic tensions, the United States worked with two consecutive FMLN administrations (2009-2019), but bilateral efforts were unable to prevent significant outflows of migrants from the country. \nDomestic Situation\nOn June 1, 2019, Nayib Bukele, a 37-year-old businessman and former mayor of San Salvador, took office for a five-year presidential term. Bukele won 53% of the vote in the February 2019 election, standing for the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) party. Elected on an anti-corruption platform, Bukele is the first president in 30 years to be elected without the backing of the conservative National Republic Alliance (ARENA) or the FMLN parties. Bukele succeeded Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n (FMLN), who presided over a period of moderate economic growth (averaging 2.3%), ongoing security challenges, and political polarization.\nPresident Bukele has promised to reduce crime and attract investment, but his lack of support in the National Assembly (GANA has 11 of 84 seats) could present challenges. Bukele has proposed infrastructure projects that could help the country take better advantage of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR); critics question how these projects will be financed. Bukele has criticized repressive governments in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Honduras. During a July 2019 visit with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, President Bukele vowed to improve relations with the United States by working bilaterally to address gangs, drugs, and immigration and seeking investment rather than U.S. assistance.\nU.S. Policy\nU.S. policy in El Salvador has focused on promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance under the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. Congress has appropriated nearly $2.6 billion for the strategy since FY2016, at least $410 million of which has been allocated to El Salvador. The Trump Administration has requested $445 million for the strategy in FY2020, including at least $45.7 million for El Salvador, and an unspecified amount allocated for the country under the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). \nFuture U.S. engagement in El Salvador is uncertain, however, as the Administration announced in March 2019 that it intended to end foreign assistance programs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras due to continued unauthorized U.S-bound migration. In June 2019, the Administration identified FY2017 and FY2018 bilateral and regional funds subject to withholding or reprogramming. It is unclear how funds appropriated for FY2019 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) and FY2020 funds may be affected. Bilateral relations also have been tested by shifts in U.S. immigration policies, including the Trump Administration\u2019s decision to rescind the temporary protected status (TPS) designation that has shielded some 250,000 Salvadorans from removal since 2001. A House-passed bill, H.R. 6, would allow certain TPS designees to apply for permanent resident status. \nThe 116th Congress could influence the future of U.S. policy toward El Salvador. Legislative initiatives that have been introduced\u2014including House-passed H.R. 2615, as well as S. 1445, and H.R. 2836/S. 7181\u2014would authorize foreign assistance for certain activities in Central America. Congress may consider initiatives to prevent the Administration from reprogramming FY2019 funds as it considers the Administration\u2019s FY2020 budget request. The House-passed FY2020 minibu H.R. 2740s, , would appropriate $540.9 million for the Central America strategy, including at least $45.7 million for El Salvador and additional funding for the country under CARSI. \nSee also CRS Report R44812, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress, by Peter J. Meyer.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "47385e90fd8128eb455e9300814b839c4ce76992", "filename": "files/20190812_R43616_47385e90fd8128eb455e9300814b839c4ce76992.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190812_R43616_images_1276cddb5a58c965d37fa99f833ff0e37fe1259b.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190812_R43616_images_0e5725ca245b2c6f75f3bfc1b898645aa7913c26.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190812_R43616_images_25fa4fd2fa662567e04f2df0d007ebb6889fbc5e.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "d6e31c1497afc4cbc63028821dd924a4c15cc76d", "filename": "files/20190812_R43616_d6e31c1497afc4cbc63028821dd924a4c15cc76d.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 587906, "date": "2018-11-20", "retrieved": "2018-11-28T14:46:32.628060", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has had significant interest in El Salvador, a small Central American nation that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s counterinsurgency efforts against the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Three decades later, the United States has worked relatively well with two consecutive, democratically elected FMLN administrations. \nPresident Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, a former guerrilla commander of the FMLN, is in the final year of his five-year term. S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n\u2019s approval ratings have been significantly lower than those of prior presidents, as security conditions remain serious and economic growth remains moderate (2.3% in 2017). Polarization between the FMLN government and the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)-dominated National Assembly has magnified those challenges. \nPolitical attention is on the February 3, 2019, first-round presidential elections. Nayib Bukele, a former mayor of San Salvador (2015-2018) standing for the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) party, leads the FMLN and ARENA candidates. Both of those parties have lost support due to revelations of corruption involving former presidents, including the August 2018 conviction of former ARENA president Tony Saca.\nU.S. policy in El Salvador continues to focus on promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance, the three objectives of the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. Congress appropriated $57.7 million in bilateral assistance for El Salvador in the FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-141) to support those objectives. P.L. 115-141 withholds 75% of assistance for the Salvadoran central government until it addresses concerns such as border security, corruption, and human rights abuses. El Salvador also benefits from regional security assistance provided through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and a Millennium Challenge Corporation compact (MCC). \nThe Trump Administration requested $45.7 million for U.S. efforts in El Salvador in FY2019. The Senate Appropriations Committee\u2019s FY2019 foreign aid appropriations measure (S. 3108) would provide $47.7 million for El Salvador. The House Appropriations Committee\u2019s foreign aid appropriations bill (H.R. 6385) would not specify a funding level for El Salvador. Both bills maintain conditions on aid to the central government. A resolution adopted by the House, H.Res. 145, called on the Salvadoran government to support ongoing anti-corruption efforts, and a provision in the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 115-232) requires the Secretary of State to name Salvadoran officials known to have engaged in, or facilitated, acts of grand corruption or narcotics trafficking.\nPresident Trump\u2019s shifts in U.S. immigration policies have tested bilateral relations. In January 2018, the Trump Administration rescinded the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that has shielded some 200,000 Salvadorans from removal (deportation) since 2001. The future of TPS and the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which has protected some 26,500 Salvadorans brought to the United States as children from removal since 2012, remains uncertain pending litigation in federal courts. \nFor more information, see CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America; CRS Report RS20844, Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues; and CRS Report R44812, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "d11d5e5f0ffd19be342e690384c2ca33a268381e", "filename": "files/20181120_R43616_d11d5e5f0ffd19be342e690384c2ca33a268381e.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/1.png": "files/20181120_R43616_images_7d823c5e9059fb9e0e4a5b2a470e9c0b2c1bfaae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/0.png": "files/20181120_R43616_images_a9fe67747886d2d4cd4ac2253d35b846f6decf66.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "14bf0942127e6945d7e7df4ab227a9eaebf4a58f", "filename": "files/20181120_R43616_14bf0942127e6945d7e7df4ab227a9eaebf4a58f.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 575094, "date": "2017-11-03", "retrieved": "2017-11-07T14:11:09.301519", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has significant interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s efforts against an insurgency led by the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Three decades later, the United States is working with the country\u2019s second democratically elected FMLN Administration. \nPresident Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, a former guerrilla commander of the FMLN, is in the fourth year of his five-year presidential term. S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n has adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward the opposition and the private sector than his predecessor, Mauricio Funes. Nevertheless, his approval ratings have been significantly lower than those of prior presidents, as security conditions remain dire and economic growth moderate.\nTwenty-five years after the signing of peace accords to end the country\u2019s civil conflict, El Salvador continues to face serious security and economic challenges. Polarization between the FMLN government and the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)-dominated National Assembly has magnified those challenges. El Salvador posted a homicide rate of 81.2 per 100,000 in 2016. Homicides have declined in 2017, but killings of security forces by gangs have escalated. The government\u2019s tough anti-gang measures have caused increasing human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of gang suspects by security forces. Insecurity remains a barrier to investment, which has inhibited economic growth. El Salvador\u2019s economy grew by 2.4% in 2016, the lowest growth rate in Central America. \nThe S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n government has maintained close cooperation with the United States. Congress has provided bilateral assistance, which totaled some $72.7 million in FY2017, as well as regional security assistance through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Economic cooperation has been bolstered by a $277 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that began in 2014. Foreign assistance to El Salvador is being guided by the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, which prioritizes promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance. \nThe Trump Administration has adjusted the strategy to focus more on combating gangs and transnational crime. It requested $46.3 million in bilateral assistance for El Salvador (a 36% cut from 2017) and $263.2 million for CARSI (a 20% cut from 2017). The House Appropriations Committee's FY2018 State Department and Foreign Operations appropriations bill, H.R. 3362 (H.Rept. 115-253), which was incorporated into the House-passed full-year FY2018 Omnibus Appropriations Measure, H.R. 3354, recommends $55.2 million for El Salvador and $334.2 million for CARSI. The Senate Appropriations Committee\u2019s version of the bill, S. 1780 (S.Rept. 115-52), recommends $63.7 million for El Salvador and $299.2 million for CARSI.\nMigration issues, such as how to prevent emigration by unaccompanied children and reintegrate deportees from the United States, figure prominently on the bilateral agenda. The Salvadoran government has sought to address the root causes of emigration and stepped up efforts against human trafficking and alien smuggling. At the same time, it has expressed concern about the Trump Administration\u2019s recent executive action on migration enforcement and the possible end of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans living in the United States, which could hasten the pace of deportations. See CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America; CRS Report RS20844, Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues; and CRS Report R44812, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "4993b5443bd20daa869bb172df847a2521601559", "filename": "files/20171103_R43616_4993b5443bd20daa869bb172df847a2521601559.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43616_files&id=/0.png": "files/20171103_R43616_images_a9fe67747886d2d4cd4ac2253d35b846f6decf66.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "9248b2f244f328b117d463ba05f9883b652d8443", "filename": "files/20171103_R43616_9248b2f244f328b117d463ba05f9883b652d8443.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459498, "date": "2017-03-08", "retrieved": "2017-03-10T20:30:39.970108", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has long maintained interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s efforts against an insurgency led by the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Three decades later, the United States is working with the country\u2019s second democratically elected FMLN Administration. \nInaugurated to a five-year term in June 2014, President Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, a former guerrilla commander of the FMLN, took office pledging to govern by the principles of austerity, efficiency, and transparency. S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n has adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward the opposition and the private sector than his predecessor, Mauricio Funes. Nevertheless, President S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n\u2019s approval ratings (50% in December 2016) have been lower than those of his predecessor, as security conditions remain dire and economic growth slowed in 2016.\nTwenty-five years after the signing of peace accords to end the country\u2019s civil conflict, El Salvador continues to face serious security and economic challenges. Its ability to address these challenges has been hindered by polarization between the FMLN government and the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)-dominated National Assembly. El Salvador posted a homicide rate of 104 per 100,000 in 2015\u2014the highest in the world. In 2016, the homicide rate dropped to 81.2 per 100,000 after the government adopted tough measures to combat gangs and reform prisons. Critics maintain that those measures have caused human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of gang suspects by security forces. Security remains a barrier to investment, which has inhibited economic growth. El Salvador\u2019s economy grew by an estimated 2.4% in 2016, the lowest growth rate in Central America. The government is facing a fiscal crisis, as it has been unable to win legislative approval necessary to take on new loans.\nThe S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n government has maintained close cooperation with the United States that began under the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative (2011-2015), which was aimed at improving security and economic competitiveness. Congress has provided bilateral assistance, which totaled $67.9 million in FY2016, as well as regional security assistance through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Economic cooperation has been bolstered by a $277 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that began in 2014. Foreign assistance to El Salvador is being guided by the 2015 U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, which prioritizes promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance. It remains to be seen how the Trump Administration may seek to adjust this strategy.\nMigration issues, such as how to prevent emigration by unaccompanied children from El Salvador and reintegrate deportees from the United States into Salvadoran society, figure prominently on the bilateral agenda. With support from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Salvadoran government has worked with its Guatemalan and Honduran counterparts to design and implement an Alliance for Prosperity plan to address the root causes of emigration. It also has stepped up efforts against human trafficking and alien smuggling. At the same time, the Salvadoran government has expressed concern about the Trump Administration\u2019s recent executive action on migration enforcement, which is likely to hasten the pace of deportations.\nSee CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America; CRS Report R43702, Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations; and CRS In Focus IF10371, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: An Overview.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "1f9a50ff68cfba8adf63e01df6efc4c40a038d27", "filename": "files/20170308_R43616_1f9a50ff68cfba8adf63e01df6efc4c40a038d27.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "70f0e7b121687444a436910ce5f610fd624c3bf9", "filename": "files/20170308_R43616_70f0e7b121687444a436910ce5f610fd624c3bf9.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459163, "date": "2017-02-23", "retrieved": "2017-03-01T17:37:26.416922", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has long maintained interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country that has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). During the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s efforts against an insurgency led by the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Three decades later, the United States is working with the country\u2019s second democratically elected FMLN Administration. \nInaugurated to a five-year term in June 2014, President Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, a former guerrilla commander of the FMLN, took office pledging to govern by the principles of austerity, efficiency, and transparency. S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n has adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward the opposition and the private sector than his predecessor, Mauricio Funes. Nevertheless, President S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n\u2019s approval ratings (50% in December 2016) have been lower than those of his predecessor, as security conditions remain dire and economic growth slowed in 2016.\nTwenty-five years after the signing of peace accords to end the country\u2019s civil conflict, El Salvador continues to face serious security and economic challenges. Its ability to address these challenges has been hindered by polarization between the FMLN government and the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)-dominated National Assembly. El Salvador posted a homicide rate of 104 per 100,000 in 2015\u2014the highest in the world. In 2016, the homicide rate dropped to 81.2 per 100,000 after the government adopted tough measures to combat gangs and reform prisons. Critics maintain that those measures have caused human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of gang suspects by security forces. Security remains a barrier to investment, which has inhibited economic growth. El Salvador\u2019s economy grew by an estimated 2.4% in 2016, the lowest growth rate in Central America. The government is facing a fiscal crisis, as it has been unable to win legislative approval necessary to take on new loans.\nThe S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n government has maintained close cooperation with the United States that began under the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative (2011-2015), which was aimed at improving security and economic competitiveness. Congress has provided bilateral assistance, which totaled $67.9 million in FY2016, as well as regional security assistance through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Economic cooperation has been bolstered by a $277 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that began in 2014. Foreign assistance to El Salvador is being guided by the 2015 U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, which prioritizes promoting economic prosperity, improving security, and strengthening governance. It remains to be seen how the Trump Administration may seek to adjust this strategy.\nMigration issues, such as how to prevent emigration by unaccompanied children from El Salvador and reintegrate deportees from the United States into Salvadoran society, figure prominently on the bilateral agenda. With support from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Salvadoran government has worked with its Guatemalan and Honduran counterparts to design and implement an Alliance for Prosperity plan to address the root causes of emigration. It also has stepped up efforts against human trafficking and alien smuggling. At the same time, the Salvadoran government has expressed concern about the Trump Administration\u2019s recent executive action on migration enforcement, which is likely to hasten the pace of deportations.\nSee CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America; CRS Report R43702, Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations; and CRS In Focus IF10371, U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: An Overview.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "4236b2a0ff7f5e1cd98faf7599fc123f4f3a1af4", "filename": "files/20170223_R43616_4236b2a0ff7f5e1cd98faf7599fc123f4f3a1af4.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "7d2cb1cf0f861b366a094dc7c46840f0f0724fbd", "filename": "files/20170223_R43616_7d2cb1cf0f861b366a094dc7c46840f0f0724fbd.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 449406, "date": "2016-02-04", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:17:50.781929", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "Congress has maintained interest in El Salvador, a small Central American country that also has had a large percentage of its population living in the United States, since the country\u2019s civil conflict (1980-1992). In the 1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars supporting the Salvadoran government\u2019s efforts against an insurgency led by the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). The United States is now working with the country\u2019s second democratically elected FMLN Administration. \nInaugurated on June 1, 2014, Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, a former guerrilla commander of the FMLN, took office pledging to govern by the principles of austerity, efficiency, and transparency. Since his narrow runoff victory over a conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) candidate, S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n has adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward the opposition and the private sector than his predecessor, Mauricio Funes (2009-2014). His approval ratings have been lower than those of his predecessor, however, as security conditions have deteriorated and the National Assembly has backed few of his priorities.\nEl Salvador is facing significant security and economic challenges. A truce between the country\u2019s major gangs helped lower homicide rates in 2012 and early 2013, but had unraveled before S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n took office and arguably increased the gangs\u2019 power. Homicides increased by 57% in 2014 and 70% in 2015. El Salvador posted a homicide rate of 104 per 100,000 in 2015\u2014the highest in the world. Security is a barrier to investment, which has inhibited economic growth. El Salvador\u2019s economy grew by roughly 2.4% in 2015, the lowest in Central America. \nThe S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n government has maintained security and economic cooperation with the United States under the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative. Launched in 2011, the PFG was a foreign aid approach involving close collaboration between the United States and select partner countries. Congress has provided bilateral assistance, which totaled an estimated $46.6 million in FY2015, as well as regional security assistance provided through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) to support PFG priorities, including justice sector reform and violence prevention. Cooperation in boosting El Salvador\u2019s competitiveness may be bolstered by a $277-million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that began in 2014.\nMigration issues, such as how to prevent emigration by unaccompanied alien children (UAC) from El Salvador and reintegrate deportees from the United States into Salvadoran society, figure prominently on the bilateral agenda. With support from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Salvadoran government has worked with its Guatemalan and Honduran counterparts to design an Alliance for Prosperity plan to address the root causes of emigration. It has also stepped up efforts again human trafficking and alien smuggling. At the same time, the Salvadoran government has expressed its opposition to U.S. immigration enforcement operations targeting its citizens eligible for deportation that began in late 2015.\nThe Obama Administration requested $119 million in bilateral assistance for El Salvador for FY2016 as part of a $1 billion request to support a new U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. Congress provided \u201cup to\u201d $750 million to implement the strategy in the FY2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 114-113). This includes up to $68 million for El Salvador and $349 million for CARSI. The act places a number of conditions on the assistance, however, that could be difficult for the Salvadoran government to meet. Those include: combating corruption, increasing government revenues, and reforming the police so that military forces can be removed from public security efforts. See: CRS Report R43702, Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations; CRS Report R41731, Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43616", "sha1": "f4777c23ce61895fef241bb5ef09d04ced6fd1be", "filename": "files/20160204_R43616_f4777c23ce61895fef241bb5ef09d04ced6fd1be.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43616", "sha1": "a0903bb229779cdf2d55067dd60fe84ed32068d8", "filename": "files/20160204_R43616_a0903bb229779cdf2d55067dd60fe84ed32068d8.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 281, "name": "Latin America and the Caribbean" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824579/", "id": "R43616_2016Jan28", "date": "2016-01-28", "retrieved": "2016-04-04T14:48:17", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report examines El Salvador's recent history, as well as its current political, economic, and security/human rights challenges. It then analyzes key issues in U.S.-Salvadoran relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20160128_R43616_6031ebef3fa249f5a4e38b055f6aebfd24f43c7d.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20160128_R43616_6031ebef3fa249f5a4e38b055f6aebfd24f43c7d.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc689184/", "id": "R43616_2015May19", "date": "2015-05-19", "retrieved": "2015-08-03T15:06:47", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report examines current conditions in El Salvador, as well as issues in U.S.-Salvadoran relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150519_R43616_9945941b7d2fe542019e595ecf1b05707ce711cd.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150519_R43616_9945941b7d2fe542019e595ecf1b05707ce711cd.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc505582/", "id": "R43616_2015Apr09", "date": "2015-04-09", "retrieved": "2015-05-29T05:37:21", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report examines current conditions in El Salvador, as well as issues in U.S.-Salvadoran relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150409_R43616_12737c07371e0ce57e5d5c91b4f84d3388e200ad.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150409_R43616_12737c07371e0ce57e5d5c91b4f84d3388e200ad.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332872/", "id": "R43616_2014Jun26", "date": "2014-06-26", "retrieved": "2014-08-27T12:47:05", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report examines current conditions in El Salvador as well as issues in U.S.-Salvadoran relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140626_R43616_df04aeef30bad4091121cbe648996d9a610b6d08.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140626_R43616_df04aeef30bad4091121cbe648996d9a610b6d08.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332866/", "id": "R43616_2014Jun23", "date": "2014-06-23", "retrieved": "2014-08-27T12:47:05", "title": "El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report examines current conditions in El Salvador as well as issues in U.S.-Salvadoran relations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140623_R43616_a7eb7e069bea298ee3a7735368ce219e560b6462.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140623_R43616_a7eb7e069bea298ee3a7735368ce219e560b6462.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- El Salvador -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign 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