Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Transparency International leaders to discuss anticorruption and transparency, specifically irregular migration.
Representatives from Venezuela, Guatemala and Ecuador gathered in Panama to fight corruption, according to an April 19 news release. Blinken recognized the efforts of Panama for bringing countries together to address irregular migration.
"It is draining resources from countries that could be put to much better use supporting the people and supporting their needs," Blinken said. "It breeds incredible and understandable cynicism about government and about leadership. It fuels all sorts of illicit enterprises."
The nations also must make sure they do what they can to protect those who are on the front lines of this work, Blinken said, according to the release.
“The United States is working hard to support these efforts throughout our hemisphere and indeed around the world,” he said in the release. “Part of it is by elevating the work of those who are combating corruption, and we are honored and proud to do it. Part of it is by supporting civil society through the funding, assistance, training that we give.”
Corruption threatens Panama's democracy in various ways, Transparency International Panama Chapter Executive Director Olga de Obaldía said in the release.
“Let me mention the critical impact of the impunity and the judiciary; second, the corrupt clientelist structure and practices in the national assembly that trickles down to communities and affects electoral fairness; third, a lack of fiscal accountability in the use of public resources; and fourth, a lack of a robust legal framework to fight and prevent corruption in the public and the private sector,” she said, according to the release.
