Summary

Northern Central America is in the throes of crisis once again. Two devastating Category 4 hurricanes in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic have shaken a region already faced with daunting challenges. Natural disasters and the pandemic have magnified previously existing problems such as long-term environmental destruction, economic and social inequality, networks of corruption, weakened government institutions, elevated levels of crime and violence, and distrust in government. As a result, the risks of renewed mass migration events like those in 2014 and 2019 are real.

The United States will have to consider how to respond to these factors, as well as their implications for a range of U.S. interests. Drawing lessons from strategies and experiences employed by the United States between 2014 and 2019 in an effort to address the sources of instability in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras should be a starting point. That is the basis of a new study to be presented by the Woodrow Wilson Center on December 2. The report suggests a number of new strategies for confronting the wide set of structural weaknesses in Central America that may offer useful ideas for U.S. policy deliberations in the coming years.

Join us for a discussion with authors and experts.

This event will be held in English.

Please send questions for the panelists before or during the event on Twitter to @LATAMProg.