Clinton arrived in Lima late Sunday on her seventh trip to the region as the top US diplomat. Her schedule includes an Organization of American States meeting in Peru as well as later stops in Ecuador, Colombia and Barbados.
At all points, officials say, she will stress the Obama administration’s commitment to the Western Hemisphere and support for democracy.
The most contentious topic facing the OAS — whether to readmit Honduras to the regional bloc — isn’t on the agenda at Monday’s annual OAS General Assembly in Lima. But it will loom large over the discussions, with the US at odds with numerous other member countries on the matter.
The US wants Honduras allowed back into the organization following elections that brought the current president, Porfirio Lobo, to power after the June 2009 coup that ousted his predecessor, Manuel Zelaya. Other governments, notably Brazil, Venezuela and Nicaragua, are opposed and insist that Zelaya be allowed to return home first.
“President Lobo has done everything he has said he would do,” Clinton told reporters Sunday. “He has been very committed to pursuing a policy of reintegration.” Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, acknowledged Friday that “there are continuing concerns over human rights violations in Honduras and that certain steps still need to be taken in order to bring about a process of national reconciliation.” Also of great concern in Latin America is Arizona’s new immigration law, which some believe will lead to racial profiling. While this, too, is not on the formal agenda, Clinton probably will get an earful about it from her colleagues even though President Barack Obama has said the law is “poorly conceived” and “not the right way to go.” The law requires that police conducting traffic stops or questioning people about possible legal violations ask them about their immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” that they’re in the United States illegally. Reasonable suspicion is not defined.
The law, which takes effect July 29 unless blocked by a court as requested under pending legal challenges, also makes it a state crime to be in the US illegally or to impede traffic while hiring day laborers, regardless of the worker’s immigration status. It would become a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit work.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza has called the law “an issue of concern to all citizens of the Americas, beginning with the citizens of the United States.” Other nations have complained loudly about it.
In separate talks on the sidelines of the Lima meeting, Clinton is expected to press for support for new UN penalties against Iran over its nuclear program. Brazil recently worked with Turkey to broker an agreement with Iran that would avert fresh penalties.
