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1 1 (June 05, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdapy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated June 5,2020 U.S. Strategy for Engagement in CentralAmerica: An Overview Instability in Central America is a pres sing challenge for U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere. Several nations- particularly El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in the Northern Triangle o fCentral America-are struggling with widespread insecurity, fragile political and judicial systems, and high levels ofpoverty and unemployment. The inability of Central American governments to address those challenges effectively has had far-reaching implications for the United States. Criminal organizations have used the Central American corridor for arange of illicit activities, including the trafficking of approximately 53% of South American cocaine bound for the United States in 2018. CentralAmerica also has surpassed Mexdco as the larges t source of irregular migration to the United States in recentyears. In FY2019, U.S. authorities apprehended nearly 608,000 unauthorized migrants from the Northern Triangle at the southwest border (see Figure 1). More than 80% of those apprehended were unaccompanied minors or families, many of whomwere seeking asylum Figure I. U.S. Apprehensions of Northern Triangle Nationals at the Southwest Border: FY201 I -FY2019 Hokirams 4: * ~ N~4 hadorans ?4 Fiscal Year Sources: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol Nationwide Apprehensions by Citizenship and Sector in FY2007- FY20 18; and U.S. Border Patrol Southwest BorderApprehensions by Sector Fiscal Year 2019, press release, November 14,2019. In 2014, the Obama Administration determined that it was in the national security interests ofthe United States to work with CentralAmerican governments to promote economic prosperity, improve security, and strengthen governance. It approved anew, whole-of-governmentU.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America and, with congressional support, more than doubled aid to the region. The Trump Administration initially maintained the strategy, but suspendedmost aid for the Northern Triangle in March 2019-less than two years into the strategy's on-the-ground implementation. Some Members of Congress objectedto the Administration's policy shift andintroduced legislation to continue providing U.S. foreign as sistanceto the region. The decisions of the 116' Congress could play a crucial role in determining the direction of U.S. policy in Central America. Since FY2016, Congress has appropriated nearly $3.1 billion for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America (see Figure 2). Congress has divided appropriations relatively evenly between bilateral as sistance programs focusedon goodgovemance, economic growth, and social welfare and Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) programs intended to prevent violence, reformjus tice-s ector institutions, and combat gangs and organized crime. U.S. agencies have allocated the vast majority of the aid to the Northern Triangle countries. Figure 2. Appropriations for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: FY2016-FY202 I Sources: U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justifications for Foreign Operations, FY201 8-FY2021; and the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. I 16-94. Note: Actual amounts for FY20 I 7-FY2020 may be lower due to the Administration's decision to suspend and reprogram some aid. S~~~ u-, p FU Ss, nc , The Trump Administration suspended most foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries in March 2019 due to the continued northward flow of migrants and asylum-seekers from the region. Although some Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice programs continued, the aid suspension forced other U.S. agencies to beginclosing down projects and canceling planned activities. In Honduras, for example, the totalnumber of beneficiaries of k 4 F xa h: \5k k y\

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