News / Politics

Senior US House Republican questions Trump plan to cut Central American aid

Tuesday, 02 April 2019 5:31 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 02 April 2019 6:41 PM ]

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Tx, speaks to reporters after US President Donald Trump addressed the House Republican Conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on June 19, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

US House of Representative senior Republican Michael McCaul has questioned the Donald Trump administration's decision to cut aid to several Central American countries.

The State Department announced on Saturday that US aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras estimated to be about $700 million had been cut due to the countries' failure to stop migrants from heading to the US.

PressTV-US cuts aid to three Central American countries

Washington has cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after President Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States.

McCaul said on Monday that cutting aid to these countries would have a detrimental effect on matters and make the migrant problem in the US worse than before.

“If we cut all this funding, and a lot of it, quite honestly, is seriously law enforcement that we’re doing down there ... I think it’s going to make things tragically worse, not better,” McCaul said in a presentation at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

“I don’t think they [Trump administration] thought it through,” said McCaul.

McCaul is the top Republican on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and House Homeland Security Committee chairman.

The State Department's announcement had come a day after US President Donald Trump said the three countries had "set up" migrant caravans for entry into the US.

"We were paying them tremendous amounts of money. And we're not paying them anymore. Because they haven't done a thing for us. They set up these caravans," Trump said Friday.

The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,Bob Menendez, had described Trump’s order to cut aid to these countries as a “reckless announcement,” calling on Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.

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