Trump vows to cut aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador over migrant caravan

Central American migrants making their way to the US in a large caravan bathe using water from a fire hydrant at the main plaza in Tapachula, Mexico. Photo / AP

US President Donald Trump vowed to cut off or "substantially" reduce aid to three Latin American nations, voicing fresh frustration as a growing caravan of migrants that originated in Honduras makes its way toward the US-Mexico border.

"Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the US," Trump said in one of a string of morning tweets on the subject.

"We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them."

It was not immediately clear what payments Trump was alluding to or the extent to which he could act without congressional approval.

Trump also expressed frustration with Mexico's military and police, saying they appear "unable to stop the Caravan" and that he has alerted the US Border Patrol and military to what he termed a national emergency.

Ahead of the November 7 Midterms, Trump has sought to turn the caravan into a symbol of the larger issue of immigration, which the White House believes can be used to drive up turnout among the Republican base.

Trump made that point explicitly in another of his tweets.

"Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws!" Trump wrote. "Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally."

Although Trump blames the Democrats, a pair of immigration bills he had backed failed in the Republican-controlled House amid policy disputes between the GOP's conservative and more moderate wings.

Migrant caravan grows as it continues push toward the United States. https://t.co/CVK0gMOHqH pic.twitter.com/1mLOcGUS5z

— Slate (@Slate) October 22, 2018

Mexicans giving food to people in the migrant caravan. The generosity and kindness that people here have shown to their Central Americans neighbors is incredible. pic.twitter.com/2F5UZyIgm9

— Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) October 22, 2018

In 2014, when tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors and families from Central America overwhelmed US Border Patrol stations, Congress authorised a US$750 million aid package to the Northern Triangle countries to boost economic growth and improve public safety to help create conditions that would prevent the exodus of migrants.

That hasn't worked, but experts said the strategy would take up to a decade and require continued investment and oversight under a coordinated strategy that was upended when Trump succeeded President Barack Obama.

In the financial year just ended, US aid to Guatemala totalled US$83.7 million, to Honduras US$58.3 million and to El Salvador US$50.7 million. All were sharply lower than in the previous years. In the financial year that just began, planned foreign spending for Guatemala is US$69.4 million, for Honduras US$65.7 million and for El Salvador US$45.7 million.

The caravan of migrants from Central America has grown to roughly 5000 people, a massive group that stretched along the main highway in Tapachula, Mexico.