Kamala to bring message of ‘hope’ to Guatemala, Mexico

US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Guatemala and Mexico next week, bringing a message of hope to a region hammered by Covid-19 and which is the source of most of the undocumented migrants seeking entry in the US.

Harris is taking her first trip abroad as President Joe Biden’s deputy with an eye towards tackling the root causes of migration from the region — one of the thorniest issues facing the White House.

“We have to give people a sense of hope, a sense of hope that help is on the way, a sense of hope that if they stay, things will get better,” Harris has said, after Biden tasked her with leading diplomatic efforts on the issue in March.

She is set to fly Sunday to Guatemala, where she will meet with President Alejandro Giammattei Monday before setting off to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday.

Harris also has plans to meet with community, labor and business leaders, according to her team.

Harris said she hopes to have “very frank and honest discussions” about corruption, crime and violence.

Detentions of undocumented travelers, including unaccompanied minors, along the US-Mexico border hit a 15-year record high in April, with nearly 180,000 people intercepted — more than 80% of them coming from Mexico or the so-called Northern Triangle of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.