US Aid Helps Not Only Central America

Cooperation from the United States opens job opportunities and improves security, reducing migration.

The Trump administration has announced plans to cut aid to the three Central American Northern Triangle countries, including El Salvador, in a measure that, far from creating solutions for the U.S., could very well complicate matters.

It is important to remember that, beyond the rhetoric from the Trump administration, it is the U.S. Congress that decides the amounts and beneficiaries of foreign aid. In fact, the administration’s could be an announcement with very little real effect.

However, there is need for caution. The cooperative programs with the U.S. have been focused, in the past decade, on plans for development so that citizens from these countries can find employment and education that allow them to stay in their countries and avoid migrating to the U.S. Support for programs to combat the endemic insecurity that we suffer from is equally important to these countries.

In large measure, the Central American migration crisis, with all of its caravans, is a reflection of the U.S. abandonment of Central America after the civil wars.

The U.S. must continue cooperation with these countries because it allows them to improve conditions in order to avoid migration and improve security. They should understand that.