Refugee crisis: US cuts aid to Central American countries
As the refugee crisis from Central America deepens, the US president has cut aid to three countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Trump has also threatened to close the border with Mexico.
The United States is cutting off aid to three Central American countries, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the State Department told CNN on Saturday, March 30, a day after President Donald Trump said the three countries were creating refugee caravans to enter the United States.
"We pay them (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) a lot of money and we're not going to give them any more money because they don't do anything for us," US President Donald Trump said on Friday.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN: "In accordance with the President's direction, we have suspended financial assistance programs to the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle. We will also coordinate with Congress in this regard."
The Honduran government responded to the move on Saturday, denouncing the US's "inconsistent policies."
Honduran officials announced that they will continue to work with El Salvador and Guatemala to find solutions for the Northern Triangle, while these officials believe that internal differences over international cooperation have been resolved.
In a tweet in October, Trump complained that these countries were not preventing their citizens from leaving the country and entering the United States illegally, and threatened to severely reduce or cut off American aid to the Northern Triangle.
Experts, however, believe that cutting off financial aid to the three Central American countries will increase immigration from these countries to the United States.
Threat to close the Mexican border
Donald Trump said on Friday that there is a high possibility that he will close the US-Mexico border crossings next week, as a wave of refugees from Central American countries continues to enter the United States through the Mexican border.
Source: DW
