CENTRAL AMERICA/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “More Honduran migrants tried to join a caravan of several thousand moving through Guatemala on Wednesday [10-17-18], defying calls by authorities not to make the journey after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off regional aid in reprisal.The caravan has grown steadily since it left the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on Saturday [10-13-18]. The migrants hope to reach Mexico and then cross its northern border with the United States, to seek refuge from lawlessness and poverty. Under Trump, the United States has already sought to sharply decrease aid to Central America. In 2016, the United States provided some $131.2 million in aid to Guatemala, $98.3 million to Honduras, and $67.9 million to El Salvador, according to U.S. official data. By 2019, those sums were projected to fall to $69.4 million for Guatemala, $65.8 million for Honduras, and $45.7 million in the case of El Salvador. Combined, the cuts amount to a reduction of almost 40 percent for the three nations.”
–Dave Graham, Delphine Schrank, “What the dispute over U.S. aid means to Central America,” Reuters, October 18, 2018 5:04 pm