Washington DC, June 18: The United States President Donald Trump’s administration has on Monday announced its plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars permanently in aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, after Trump lambasted on the three nations as tens of thousands of their citizens sought asylum by illegally travelling to America through the southern border with Mexico.
According to Al-Jazeera news reports, US congressional have said the Trump administration has told them it would divert at least $370 million aid to Central America which the politicians have approved for the fiscal year of 2018 and halted an additional aid worth $180 million which the Congress approved for the fiscal year of 2017. All funds allocated for those fiscal years were yet unused.
In March, the Trump administration has said it would cut short aid to Honduran, Guatemala, and El Salvador after the US president expressed tension with those nation’s immigration policies.
Politicians who have opposed the plan stated it was a cruel decision to cut aid to nations struggling with crime and hunger.
US state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said no funds would be diverted until the Trump administration was satisfied the nations are decreasing the number of migrants crossing the US border.
“This is consistent with the president’s direction and with the recognition that it is critical that there be sufficient political will in these countries to address the problem at its source,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday announced it would be ceasing providing financial aid to the anti-human trafficking outfits.
Obrador, instead, said his government will run victim care and shelters directly.
During a media conference, he said, “With the system of intermediation, most of the money stayed in the hands of intermediaries,” adding, “Now, the government will do it directly.”
Moves have come at the time when Obrador stepped up measures to halt the flow of migrants crossing the US southern border, mostly from Central America, seeking asylum as part of a deal agreed between Obrador and Trump to stem immigration.
Moreover, Mexico is continually rolling out the additional deployment of around 6,000 National Guard Members to the souther border.