The Trump administration plan will be aimed at 30 countries of the continent and is called “America Crece”, and consists mainly of the development of private investments, granting loans and sale of natural gas surpluses.

The U.S. government’s objective is that, with the application of América Crece, job creation will be facilitated through the development of infrastructure in airports, ports, highways, digital networks and telecoms, but the big bet will be energy projects.

Álvaro González Ricci, Guatemala’s finance minister appointed by Alejandro Giammattei and who will take office on January 14, 2020, told Prensalibre.com that “... The U.S. is contemplating the availability of up to US$60 billion in cooperation for all of Latin America, a good part of which would be destined for the Northern Triangle through América Crece.”

Gonzalez added that “… the great difference with the cooperation known so far is that these resources will not be managed through the public sector, where bureaucracy makes it impossible for the funds to be executed. The idea is that the Overseas Private Operations Corporation (Opic) is going to lend directly to the businessman, to the private sector and with it, projects in the region will be streamlined.”

According to U.S. authorities, within the framework of América Crece, Panama would be the first country to sign an investment agreement with the U.S. power.

Mauricio Claver-Carone, Donald Trump’s advisor, explained that they are evaluating that Panama is the “… first to sign an agreement for infrastructure financing, just as it was the first (in the region) to sign an energy agreement,’ with the United States.”

According to Laestrella.com.pa, Claver-Carone added that “… We have seen and always have been the narrative of the efforts of other external countries, particularly China, to be able to capture friends and opportunities in the Western Hemisphere, where the United States remains overwhelmingly the first investor in the Western Hemisphere.”