Isolated At Home, Guatemala President Moves Closer To U.S. With Jerusalem Move
President of Guatemala Jimmy Morales (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) give a joint press conference after signing bilateral agreements at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on November 29, 2016. Image by ABIR SULTAN/AFP/Getty Images
Dec 27 (Reuters) – Guatemala’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital cleaves President Jimmy Morales closer to the United States at a time his stock has fallen at home due to corruption allegations raised by U.N.-backed investigators.
Defying overwhelming international rejection of President Trump’s decision to move his embassy to Jerusalem, Guatemala and Honduras were the only nations in the Americas to back him in a U.N. General Assembly vote last week.
Increasingly isolated at home, Morales won friends in Washington by aligning himself with Trump, although he runs the risk of backlash from Arab countries which import the costly spice cardamom from Guatemala.
Morales on Christmas Eve said he would follow Trump in moving Guatemala’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“This is a pretty low-cost way for Morales to make sure the Trump administration is on his side,” said Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank.
Morales is no stranger to international controversy.
In August, the former TV comedian came under fire from the United Nations, the European Union and the U.S. ambassador in Guatemala for attempting to expel a U.N.-backed prosecutor seeking to put him on trial for alleged corruption.
The investigation into allegations of illicit campaign financing – which followed separate graft probes into members of the president’s family – had threatened to condemn Morales to impeachment.
Morales, an evangelical Christian, says the Israel policy is a principled stand in the tradition of Guatemala’s longstanding support of Israel.
“Even though there were only nine of us in the whole world who backed (Trump’s position) we’re totally sure this is the right path,” Morales said of the U.N. vote. Eight other nations opposed the resolution condemning the United States for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and 128 voted for it.
Backing Trump was also an exercise in realpolitik for Morales.
Trump threatened to cut aid to countries backing the U.N. resolution. Few in the Americas rely more on U.S. support than Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which did not vote.
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