Press Releases

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes

U. S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes to Lead a Delegation to Central America

December 4 - 6, 2005

Washington, December 1, 2005

Under Secretary Karen Hughes will lead a delegation of distinguished private sector business leaders to Central America from December 4-6 to encourage private sector assistance to relief and reconstruction efforts in the area following a series of natural disasters that impacted the economies and quality of life in the region.

The delegation includes: Steve Reinemund, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.; Bob Lane, Chairman and CEO, Deere & Company; and Maria Lagomasino, Former Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Private Bank.

The Under Secretary will also be accompanied by Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. The delegation will visit Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

The CEOs’ mandate from the President George W. Bush includes seeing U.S. assistance efforts already underway. The delegation will have high-level bilateral meetings with government officials, and will receive briefings from representatives of the U.S. embassies, the U.S. Southern Command, and non-governmental organizations.

• More on U.S. Assistance and Relief Efforts in Guatemala After Hurricane Stan