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                                                                                            Updated July 17, 2019
U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: An Overview


Introduction
Instability in Central America is a pressing challenge for
U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere. Several nations-
particularly El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in the
Northern Triangle of Central America-are struggling
with widespread insecurity, fragile political and judicial
systems, and high levels of poverty and unemployment.

The inability of Central American governments to
effectively address those challenges has had far-reaching
implications for the United States. Transnational criminal
organizations have used the Central American corridor for a
range of illicit activities, including the trafficking of
approximately 90% of cocaine bound for the United States.
Central America also has surpassed Mexico as the largest
source of irregular migration to the United States. In the
first nine months of FY2019, U.S. authorities apprehended
more than 511,000 unauthorized migrants from the
Northern Triangle at the southwest border (see Figure 1).
Nearly 82% of those apprehended were unaccompanied
minors or families, many of whom were seeking
humanitarian protection

Figure I. U.S. Apprehensions  of Northern Triangle
Nationals at the Southwest  Border: FY20I  I -FY2019


250,000
                                         Guate  alans
 200 000

 150 000

 100 000
                                          Salvadorans



      5000
      FY11     FY13     FY15      FY17    FY19*


Source: CRS presentation of data from U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, U.S. Border Patrol Nationwide Apprehensions by
Citizenship and Sector in FY2007-FY2018; and U.S. Border Patrol
Southwest Border Apprehensions by Sector Fiscal Year 2019, press
release, July  10, 2019.
Notes: FYI9* includes October 2018-June 2019.

In 2014, the Obama Administration determined that it was
in the national security interests of the United States to
work with Central American governments to promote
economic prosperity, improve security, and strengthen         Sources: U.S. D
governance. It approved a new, whole-of-government U.S.       justifications for
Strategy for Engagement in Central America and, with
congressional support, more than doubled aid to the region.   II69

                                          https:Hicrsreportstcongress.gov


The Trump  Administration initially maintained the strategy
but adjusted it to place more emphasis on preventing illegal
immigration, combating transnational crime, and generating
opportunities for U.S. businesses. The Administration also
sought to scale back funding for the initiative. Although
Congress has rejected some of the Administration's
proposed reductions, annual assistance to Central America
has declined by nearly 30% since FY2016 (see Figure 2).

The future of the Central America strategy is now in
question, as the Trump Administration has begun closing
down  foreign assistance programs in the Northern Triangle.
Some  Members  of Congress have objected to the
Administration's abrupt policy shift and have introduced
legislation that would restrict its ability to transfer funds
away from the region. The decisions made by the 116th
Congress could play a crucial role in determining the
direction of U.S. policy toward Central America in the
coming years.

Funding
Since FY2016, Congress has appropriated nearly $2.6
billion for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central
America. The funding has been divided fairly evenly
between bilateral assistance programs focused on good
governance, economic growth, and social welfare and
Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
programs intended to prevent violence, reform justice-
sector institutions, and combat gangs and organized crime.
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International
Development  have allocated the vast majority of that aid to
the Northern Triangle, including at least 76% of the funding
appropriated in FY2016 and FY2017.

Figure 2. Appropriations for the U.S. Strategy for
Engagement   in Central America:  FY2016-FY2020


    $750






Forign FY17tins FY1  7FY1920  FY20.Rp


800
700

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