US diplomat in El Salvador critical of govt, says it ‘shows no interest’ to improve ties

The top United States diplomat in El Salvador, Jean Manes, on Monday, 22 November, announced that she has decided to leave her job as Nayib Bukele government is “showing no interest” to improve bilateral ties. While announcing her decision, Manes informed that she will now be serving as civilian deputy commander at US Southern Command, according to AP. The departure of the top US diplomat has signalled the deteriorating relations between the two nations. 

Manes also highlighted that there is no point in staying in El Salvador as she was not having a counterpart. Furthermore, she asserted that whenever the administration of El Salvador wants to engage with them, the US is open to talks. Manes insisted that the US administration had sent her as a “bridge”, however, the “government has decided to not take it,” as per AP. Reportedly, El Salvador President Bukele's office has not responded to a request for a comment on the matter. 

“Why am I going to stay here if we don’t have a counterpart at this time?” Manes said. “When El Salvador wants to talk, our doors are always open,” Jean Manes said as per AP. 

“When El Salvador wants to talk, our doors are always open,” Manes added as per AP.

Jean Manes leaves job 

Manes said that she used to have private meetings with the country's president Nayib Bukele. Both sides engaged with each other when El Salvador’s new attorney general announced that the government had decided to cancel the Organisation of American States anti-corruption mission, according to AP. Manes pointed out that access to public information was reduced and over 200 judges and prosecutors were removed from the post under new age and years of service. 

She claimed that later on, pro-government media started attacking her and the US government. As per the AP report, Manes previously worked as the US ambassador to El Salvador from 2016 to 2019 and she took over as the interim charge d’affaires in May. She also criticised Bukele's administration for not working on an extradition agreement, under which the Bukele government had to send members of the MS-13 gang to the US for trial. 

Inputs from AP

Image: AP