Corrupt Latin leaders could lose assets in U.S., Bush envoy says

Miami Herald ^ | September 7, 2002 | TIM JOHNSON tjohnson@herald.com

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. envoy to Latin America said Friday the Bush administration is studying whether it can seize properties that corrupt officials in the region purchase in the United States.

Voicing dismay at public corruption, Otto Reich, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said the Bush administration has ''pulled quite a few visas'' of Latin officials recently but wants to expand its anti-corruption drive.

…. Reich, a Cuban-born lobbyist and former ambassador who took his post in January, has made fighting corruption a key element in U.S. foreign policy.

In his public remarks, Reich mentioned that U.S. officials have withdrawn the visas of officials linked to corruption in Nicaragua and Ecuador. Both nations are embroiled in malfeasance scandals.

'I don't want to get overdramatic here. The use of the term `war' has been overdone. But we have declared war on corruption, and we're going to win it,'' Reich said.

Corruption in Latin America, he said, ``undermines the very systems that we are trying to support, the democratic systems, the development of societies.''

In the interview, Reich said the Bush administration is not only revoking the visas of corrupt public officials in Latin America but also of private business owners or bankers who steal from governments or from helpless citizens.

''These people are destroying lives. They are stealing food from the mouths of children and the poor. The money, if it's public money, should go to health, education, nutrition [and] housing,'' he said.

Reich said he was ''gratified'' at the reaction from some high-profile U.S. visa revocations in the region, adding that some sitting Latin American presidents have personally thanked President Bush.

''It has had a tremendous impact, to be honest with you,'' said Reich, who traveled to Nicaragua and Honduras in late August.

U.S. officials have revoked more than 20 visas of prominent Guatemalans so far this year, including a retired army general, and have pulled the visas of a number of former officials who worked under Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán, who left office earlier this year, according to news reports.

Reich declined to provide numbers, saying he didn't want to get into ``a body count.''