The US is cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras (the so-called Northern Triangle countries) a day after Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the US.

Iran Press/America: Donald Trump claimed on Friday in Florida that the three neighboring countries had set up caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States. A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across its southern border in recent days.

"We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and we're not paying them anymore because they haven't done a thing for us," Trump said, Reuters reported.

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 said in a statement.

The State Department said it would engage Congress in the process, an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers' approval to end the funding.

Trump on Friday also threatened to close the US border with Mexico next week if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States, a move that could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.105/211/205

 

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