The State Department announced Monday it will cut new foreign aid to the “Northern Triangle” countries — Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador — unless their governments take “concrete action” to stem the flow of migrants towards the United States.
The aggressive move came less than two weeks after the Trump administration reached a last-minute deal with Mexico, which called for the country’s deployment of more troops to its own southern border and tighter asylum protocols. The U.S. and Mexico reached the accord shortly before the White House was set to impose a series of escalating tariffs on its southern neighbor.
President Trump previously pushed in March to cut $615 million in aid to the Northern Triangle, noting that the nations have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border to claim asylum, in some cases fraudulently.
On further review, the State Department said the administration has decided to continue to provide $432 million for anti-gang, education, and health initiatives. U.S. officials said the review looked at roughly 700 projects funded with fiscal 2017 money by the United States in the three countries and concluded that a significant number were too far advanced to end them. – READ MORE