Central American-US Relations: Trump cuts all direct assistance to Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala

USA building a wall - China providing assistance

In a stunning about-face, State Department officials said that President Donald Trump is cutting off all direct assistance to the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

“At the Secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “We will be engaging Congress as part of this process.”

Trump hinted at the cuts earlier on Friday, telling reporters,”I’ve ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore.”

While the president has threatened these cuts before, this time the administration is actually following through.

Trump said the funds totaled $500 million, but it wasn’t clear Friday if that figure was accurate. The State Department announced in December that the U.S. would mobilize $5.8 billion in public and private american investment to these three countries.

“We’re not paying them anymore because they haven’t done a thing for us,” he added. 

Note EU-Digest: Once again, not a very clever move by the Trump administration, as China and Russia will obviously not waste too much time in providing these nations with the needed aid after the US drops out of the picture. As they have done in Venezuela, Suriname and several other countries in Central and South America.

Read more: Trump cuts all direct assistance to Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala

Central America: Panama rejects EU offer to mediate canal dispute

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal Authority continued informal talks with a Spanish-led consortium on Monday, seeking to resolve a US$1.6-billion cost-overrun dispute that has threatened to halt the biggest part of the project to expand the canal.

The consortium, led by Spain's Sacyr Vallehermoso, had given a Sunday deadline for the authority to come up with funds or face a work stoppage. But the project continued at the same 25 to 30 per cent activity level it has seen since the conflict arose in November, said canal Administrator Jorge Quijano.

The canal authority rejected an offer by the European Union to mediate its dispute with the mostly European construction consortium, United for the Canal.

The contract for completing the third set of locks already includes mechanisms to resolve disputes, and none involve third parties, the authority wrote in an email responding to questions from The Associated Press.

The canal-building group said in a brief statement Sunday that a stoppage "is not a scenario being considered at this moment".

Read more: Panama rejects EU offer to mediate canal dispute - Business - Jamaica Gleaner - Tuesday | January 21, 2014