On Tuesday, President of the United States Donald Trump proposed in his “America First” plan a drastic cut in the aid given to Mexico and Central America. That will represent a reduction of 614 million dollars for the region compared to what they received in 2016.
The cut will not be conducive to the fight against drug trafficking that is lurking in the region and will not favor the attempts of the countries in the area to end poverty. With the measure, Trump could be “shooting in the foot” as the increase in the difficult conditions that drown the Central Americans will only further promote the migration to the north.
President Trump’s economic program seeks to cut a total of $ 3.6 billion in government spending. To be approved, it must go to the Congress where it does not have much support so far because the proposed cuts include significant decreases in the budget of the State Department.
In Guatemala, US aid would fall by nearly 40 percent from 2016, while in Honduras and El Salvador it would fall by almost a third. Aid will also decrease for Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.