Experts say gutting important programs, will eventually lead to more migration, insecurity, corruption in countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador
Central American migrants, part of the caravan hoping to reach the US border, take a break in Acacoyagua, Chiapas State, Mexico, Thursday, March 28, 2019.
"Gutting important programs," she added, "will eventually lead to more migration, more insecurity, more corruption, more impunity in these countries."Trump said last week that "we were paying them tremendous amounts of money and we're not paying them anymore because they haven't done a thing for us," and mentioned a figure of $500 million.
The aid is meant to promote democracy-building, good governance, trade, agriculture, education, health, public safety and law enforcement. Reaction from the three governments has been muted so far, perhaps for fear of angering Trump. It's seen as unglamorous but badly needed work, especially in a place like El Salvador, which has a homicide rate that is among the world's highest at more than 50 per 100,000 people last year.
Some government programs aimed at persuading Central Americans not to emigrate have been put in place, in part in response to Trump's earlier criticism about the migrant caravans that brought thousands trekking toward the US border, and the threatened aid cutoff does not take that into account, officials say.
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