Harris will travel to Honduras for the inauguration of Xiomara Castro

搜索

复制

Harris will travel to Honduras for the inauguration¹ of Xiomara Castro

Transcript²

Vice³ President Harris' trip to Honduras is seen as a signal that the White House hopes new leadership in the country will help to address the root causes of migration⁴ from the region.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Vice President Harris is traveling to Honduras tomorrow for the inauguration of a new president, Xiomara Castro. That Harris is going at all shows this new relationship is very important to the White House. There's hope in Washington that they found a new willing partner to help tackle the root causes of migration from Central America to the U.S. southern border. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordo?ez is here. Franco, good morning.

FRANCO ORDO?EZ, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: How big a deal is it that Harris is going at all?

ORDO?EZ: You know, it's a big deal. You know, it's very rare that a vice president will travel to Latin America for an inauguration, especially a smaller country like Honduras. You know, this relates to part of Vice President Harris' role in the White House. She has a really complex job of tackling migration from Central America. And the numbers of people coming to the southern border continue to be really high. In just the last fiscal⁶ year, there were almost 320,000 times when a migrant from Honduras came to the U.S. border. Honduras is a troubled country with a poor economy, a lot of gang violence, drug trafficking. But tackling these problems has been really hard. You know, the U.S. had a difficult relationship with the departing president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who's actually accused of taking drug money. And now, in comes Xiomara Castro, who is saying all the kinds of things that the U.S. wants to hear about working together, restoring democracy and fighting corruption⁷.

INSKEEP: How would she fit in with any other partners the U.S. might have in the region?

ORDO?EZ: Yeah. This is why the change in leadership there is such a big deal because Harris doesn't really have other partners to work with. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has issues with corruption, and he's even used social media to pick all kinds of fights with the Biden administration. In Guatemala, things started off well. Harris went there in June to meet with President Alejandro Giammattei. But just last week, the State Department slammed the Giammattei government for going after a judge who has exposed bribery⁸ and corruption in the government. I talked to Eric Farnsworth. He's a former State Department official now at the Council of Americas. He says the United States is desperate for a partner.

ERIC FARNSWORTH: To have the ability to be able to talk meaningfully with the incoming president of Honduras changes the dynamic, particularly as El Salvador and Guatemala have strained relations now with the United States.

ORDO?EZ: You know, but Farnsworth told me - and I really think this is important - that many other Latin American leaders have rode into office pledging to root out corruption. And it just didn't happen.

INSKEEP: And in fact, you just mentioned a Guatemalan leader who seemed promising⁹ for the United States and now seems less so. Is there any danger that this relationship with a new president in Honduras might not work out?

ORDO?EZ: You know, there are a few things that are involved. You know, I will just add that there's one really interesting geopolitical issue to do with this, and that has to do with China. You know, Honduras is one of those very few countries in the world to have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. You know, but during her campaign, Castro suggested she would shift more to China, and that's a really big deal to the administration. You know, they don't want their neighbors in the region to have closer ties with China. I spoke¹⁰ with Eric Miller¹¹. He's a trade consultant¹² working with Honduran firms collaborating¹³ with Harris. And he told me both powers, the U.S. and China, are really courting Honduras right now.

ERIC MILLER: What happens in Latin America with China is something that is of very direct interest to the United States and is something that poses a bit of an existential threat.

ORDO?EZ: You know, so the U.S. does not want to start off this crucial relationship dealing¹⁴ with this issue. And I'll just note that the vice president of Taiwan will actually also be at the inauguration.

INSKEEP: As will NPR's Franco Ordo?ez. Franco, we'll look forward to your reporting.

ORDO?EZ: Thank you, Steve.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIBIO'S "SAINT THOMAS")

1 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

13 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。