Inspection of Embassy San Salvador, El Salvador

What OIG Inspected 

OIG inspected the executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy San Salvador.  

What OIG Found

• The Ambassador and acting Deputy Chief of Mission generally modeled the Department of State’s leadership principles, particularly communication, accessibility, and valuing and developing people.
• The Political and Economic Sections generally complied with Department standards for policy implementation and reporting. 
• The embassy’s drinking water reimbursement program did not comply with Department standards. 
• The embassy had deficiencies in its information management and information security operations, including the performance of information systems security officer duties. 
• Spotlight on Success: The Consular Section launched anti-fraud programs to strengthen fraud prevention, identifying more than 360 visa applicants who paid over $180,000 to fraudulent consultants. 

What OIG Recommends 

OIG made 7 recommendations to Embassy San Salvador. In its comments on the draft report, the embassy concurred with 6 recommendations and neither agreed nor disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers all 7 recommendations resolved. The embassy’s response to each recommendation and OIG’s reply can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The embassy’s formal response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.