US Adds Central American Ex-Presidents, Judges, Lawmakers to Corruption List

(Reuters) – The U.S. State Department added nearly 40 individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, including former presidents and judges, to a list published on Wednesday of “corrupt and undemocratic actors.”

Two former presidents of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez, were added to the list. Funes served from 2009 to 2014, while Sanchez is linked to corruption, money laundering, and embezzlement of public funds. Both now reside in Nicaragua and cannot be extradited due to their citizenship from President Daniel Ortega’s government.

Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, highlighted the impact of corruption on national security in relation to irregular migration.

The list also includes Fredy Orellana, a judge from Guatemala who suspended an anti-graft party after its presidential candidate, Bernardo Arevalo, qualified for a run-off. Additionally, judges and prosecutors involved in persecuting journalists in Guatemala are on the list.

Guatemala’s government denounced the accusations, describing the report as a despicable attempt by the United States to assert its jurisdiction on individuals overseas.

Former officials from the government of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was extradited to the U.S. for drug trafficking ties, are also listed. Members of Honduras’ opposition Liberal Party, including leader Yani Rosenthal, convicted of money laundering in the U.S., appear as well.

In Nicaragua, all parliamentary leaders, except the president who is already sanctioned by the U.S., are included. Several judges and directors of Nicaragua’s money laundering watchdog are also on the list.