Vice President Harris to Lead U.S. Delegation to Honduras for Xiomara Castro's Inauguration
The White House said Kamala Harris will head the American delegation at the swearing-in of Honduras' president-elect, a visit tied to U.S. efforts on migration, corruption and economic growth.
By Valentina Cruz ·
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the American delegation to Honduras for the inauguration of President-elect Xiomara Castro, scheduled for later this month, the White House announced.
Sabrina Singh, the vice president's deputy press secretary, said in a statement that the trip would advance commitments Harris and Castro made during a December 10 phone call. According to Singh, the two pledged to deepen the partnership between the United States and Honduras and to work together on economic growth, fighting corruption and tackling the root causes of migration.
Several other officials will travel with Harris. The delegation includes Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Democratic Rep. Raúl Ruiz of California. Diplomats on the delegation are José Fernández, the State Department's under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment; Brian Nichols, the department's assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs; and Colleen Hoey, chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Castro, a former first lady, is the wife of former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup 12 years ago. She will become the first woman to serve as Honduras' president. A self-described democratic socialist, Castro had run for the presidency twice before winning last fall.
President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with overseeing diplomatic efforts in the Northern Triangle to address migration. It is not yet clear what policy initiatives she will pursue while in Honduras.
In her most recent public action in that role, the vice president announced a new set of private-sector commitments to invest in the Northern Triangle of Central America, made up of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The pledges are part of an effort to address the underlying causes of regional migration by expanding economic opportunity.
The Honduras trip will be Harris' second visit to the region since she took office. In June she traveled to Guatemala and Mexico.
Coverage of that trip was dominated by her stumbling response to questions about whether she would visit the southern U.S. border. Later in June, Harris did go to the border between the United States and Mexico, touring a central processing center in El Paso and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: KVIA ABC-7
