Leader of the firm’s international trade and national security practice Giovanna Cinelli discussed a recently announced initiative by the Biden-Harris administration focused on fighting corruption in Northern Triangle countries for national security reasons.
A memorandum that preceded the announcement directs more than a dozen US departments and agencies, from the US Department of Justice to the National Security Agency, to report to the president within 200 days with recommendations on how to prevent corruption at home and abroad. According to Giovanna, the sheer number of agencies that have been asked to produce recommendations could muddy the waters. “There are too many players,” she said, explaining that the widely varying objectives of the authorities and their remits to operate both domestically and internationally may be seen as overly broad.