U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken departs the International Zone via helicopter after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday Nov. 5, 2023. Blinken flew to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as American forces in the region face a surge of attacks by Iranian-allied militias in Iraq and elsewhere.
Blinken’s trip was widely covered in the national and international press and rightly so. Its importance in working toward peace and representing U.S. interests is essential.But it was also a reminder to us of a less visible but also critical State Department trip in late October. Brian Nichols, the top U.S. diplomat for Western Hemisphere affairs, traveled to Guatemala and El Salvador to discuss cooperation on migration, security and the rule of law.
The Biden administration must continue to engage with these countries even as it tries to put out fires in other parts of the world. U.S. influence in Latin America has waned in part because we ignored the region for so long and ceded clout to China and Russia. It’s preposterous that during such a sensitive time in Guatemala, we have no sitting ambassador. President Joe Biden’s nominee, whom he named in April, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate., this editorial shows the need to maintain diplomatic pressure in the region even as the U.S. deals with other international crises.. Dallas Morning News editorials are written by the paper's Editorial Board and serve as the voice and view of the paper.