Congressman Gonzalez Responds to Comments Made By President of Guatemala

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) issued a statement following the recent comments made by the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei regarding the state of the U.S.-Guatemala relations:  

“The Administration has chosen to take an un-American path during this global pandemic. Time and time again, the Trump administration continues to alienate our friends and tarnish the United States’ credibility as an ally on the world stage.

I recognize President Giammattei for courageously exposing the sad state of affairs between our two nations. Blatantly strong-arming your neighbor into complying with a xenophobic, America First agenda is not the America the world knows and loves. Withholding life-saving resources is not how you treat an ally, particularly during a public health and economic crisis of this scale that is sure to have severe follow-on effects in the developing world. 

We need benevolent, thoughtful leadership and cooperation not intimidation and deprivation. Our survival as a country, a hemisphere, and an international community depends on it.

Now more than ever, we should acknowledge the importance of the Americas in the realm of our own national security. For it is our very neighbors who have stood with us during our most complicated global struggles, and it is they who we will count on in the post-pandemic world.”

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