WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The US government announced that it will resume financial assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after the suspension of funds ordered by President Donald Trump in March.
At the time, Trump accused those countries, members of the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America, and also Mexico, of not doing enough to stop the flow of migrants to the southern border of the United States and used the measure as a means of pressure to achieve that purpose.
Several analysts considered that the suspension of aid would only worsen the conditions of poverty and violence in the affected areas, and would lead more inhabitants to abandon them, a view repeated by Democratic politicians.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a recent statement that the department under his command had informed Congress of its intention to resume aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
‘Thanks to the President’s policy and to the response from these countries, we are seeing great progress. Recently signed Asylum Cooperation Agreements (ACAs) are but one example,’ Pompeo said.
He stressed that ‘This funding will support programs that are advancing our joint efforts to mitigate illegal immigration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.’
He added that these programs will ‘complement our joint security plans for each government; augment private sector efforts to create economic opportunity; promote rule of law, institution building, and good governance; and help these countries develop their capacities to implement the recently signed agreements to build stronger local asylum systems.’
On Sept 25, the United States signed an agreement with Honduras to curb the arrival of migrants to its border, and that step followed similar initiatives with Guatemala and El Salvador in July and September, respectively.
The deal was signed by Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, who will leave office soon, and Honduran Foreign Minister, Lisandro Rosales.
According to McAleenan, ‘Solving the crisis at the border means working with our neighbors in the region,’ who added that’ Honduras has been a great partner.’
Without mentioning the term ‘safe third country,’ the text stated that Washington and Tegucigalpa pledged to increase the options to protect vulnerable people and prevent them from becoming victims of human trafficking.
Since coming to power on Jan 20, 2017, Trump has promoted various measures against irregular and legal migration to the United States, despite national and international rejection. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
