On Friday, CISPES joined over 75 human rights, environmental, faith, women's and labor organizations from throughout the hemisphere in sending an open letter to the Presidents of the US, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico to express urgent concerns about the proposed Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle Plan. The plan, ostensibly developed to address the flow of migrants from Central America, risks exacerbating the poverty and violence it claims to address. The White House has requested $1 billion from Congress to support the Plan.

According to Kelsey Alford-Jones, Executive Director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission in Washington, DC, “One of our deepest concerns about the Alliance for Prosperity Plan is that it perpetuates the same economic policies that have already resulted in skyrocketing inequality. We are especially alarmed by the proposed construction of large-scale infrastructure projects and the expansion of extractive industries, which have caused a lot of forced displacement throughout the region and are often associated with violence against communities that organize to defend their lands and livelihoods.”

The other major concerns raised to the presidents were the continuation of the militarized security policies associated with the War on Drugs, the danger posed to migrants by the proposal to militarize the borders within Central America and between Guatemala and Mexico, and the fact that the Plan thus far has been developed without any democratic consultation or participation by the population. Read the press release here and a copy of the letter here.