Home » World » El Salvador hires, then fires, US lobbyist | News from El Salvador

El Salvador hires, then fires, US lobbyist | News from El Salvador

The government of El Salvador signed a $ 450,000 contract to hire an influential lobbyist in Washington – and almost immediately backed out of the agreement – at a time when the president Here’s to watching, a strong ally of Trump, is the target of accusations that his popular policies mask an authoritarian tendency, The Associated Press reported today.

Robert Stryk’s Sonoran Policy Group registered as a foreign agent with the US government on Thursday after signing a contract with Bukele’s national intelligence chief, in accordance with a contract provided by the Justice Department. However, hours later, in response to a request for comment from the AP, Bukele’s office said the president had never approved the contract – which is dated August 15 – and that he canceled it.

Despite multiple requests, his office and two assistants said they would not say when it was canceled or what led to the abrupt change of decision, but they insisted that no payments had been made.

“The Government of El Salvador has 194 state portfolios. Each one has a holder, who can make use of its funds and allocate them for A or B situation, contract, service or need. But these types of contracts are approved by the President or not directly approved, ”his office said in a statement.

“In this case, he did not approve the contract. The contract was canceled and you can verify with Sonoran Policy Group, the company that says it was hired. The agency will tell you that the contract was canceled and that not a 5 was disbursed from any state portfolio. The best thing would be to check with the company ”, he added.

On Friday, Stryk said he did not comment on the status of the contract after El Salvador insisted it had been canceled. Under the terms of the contract, either party can terminate the relationship, with 30 days notice, but would potentially be responsible for any payment until it is officially terminated.

“The signing of this contract on behalf of the people of El Salvador continues my dedication to assist all nations to eliminate corruption, organized crime and terrorism to promote the sacred values ​​of capitalism, which is the eternal flame that truly illuminates the world, “Stryk said in a statement.”

It is not clear why the Bukele government was seeking influence in Washington. The advisory agreement signed by Peter Dumas, El Salvador’s director of national intelligence, only says that Stryk’s firm will charge $ 75,000 a month for up to six months of government and press relations work. It also says that it will provide advice on economic development and contacts with business organizations for the Bukele government.

The 39-year-old president took office as an independent, promising to rescue the country from the deep divisions left by rampant gang violence and systematic corruption in the governments of the right and left that followed the end of a bloody civil war in 1992. .

Polls show that the vast majority of Salvadorans approve of their government’s overbearing approach, but human rights groups and some business leaders complain that it has trampled on the constitution, especially in February, when it sent heavily armed troops to surround Congress. to pressure legislators to approve a loan to finance the fight against gangs. His strict confinement to combat the coronavirus pandemic was also controversial.

Bukele has reached out to President Donald Trump, expressing support for his tough immigration policies by signing a bilateral agreement that would allow the United States to send asylum seekers from other countries to El Salvador. The policy had not been implemented when the pandemic broke out.

As part of presenting documents on Thursday, Sonoran said it had hired Mario Duarte, a former head of Guatemala’s intelligence service, to assist in its work on behalf of El Salvador.

Stryk, a former Republican aide and wine producer who ran for mayor in Yountville, California, has positioned himself at the top of a competitive industry of influence in Trump’s Washington.

Former unpaid Trump campaign adviser on the West Coast, his firm had reported no lobbying activities between 2013 and 2016, but has collected more than $ 17.3 million from foreign clients since the start of 2017, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group.

Stryk claims to be an outsider in Washington and disputes the notion that he has special ties to the White House.

Many of his previous clients have a bad reputation in Washington or are under US sanctions, such as the governments of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She currently represents Isabel dos Santos, the richest woman in Africa, who faces accusations that she accumulated her enormous fortune through state loans facilitated by her father, the former president of Angola Eduardo Dos Santos.

In January he registered as a foreign agent to open doors for the socialist government of Venezuela, which Trump and Bukele oppose, but the law firm that hired him as a consultant later voided the $ 12.5 million contract with an ally. surrounded by President Nicolás Maduro amid criticism from Florida Republicans, who accused them of promoting a “dictator.”

The last time El Salvador hired a lobbyist in the United States was in 2017, when its embassy in Washington paid the Dentons US law firm a total of $ 125,000 for five months of work in favor of bilateral relations.

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