Vox<\/a>: 5 former US military chiefs condemn Trump\u2019s decision to cut Central American aid<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Alex Ward<\/p>\n
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On April 1, President Donald Trump vowed to cut off aid to three Central American countries, due to a wave of people trying to flee violence and economic devastation and enter the United States.<\/p>\n
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But on Monday, five retired top military officers who oversaw American operations in the region said it\u2019s a really, really bad idea.<\/p>\n
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The former four-stars were all the chiefs of US Southern Command, the military organization that orchestrates operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and served in that post at varying points throughout the previous three administrations. One, retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, was once rumored to be in consideration as Trump\u2019s secretary of state.<\/p>\n
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According to them, Trump\u2019s decision will not stop the flow of migrants trudging northward.<\/p>\n
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On the contrary, it\u2019ll only make things worse.<\/p>\n
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\u201cImproving conditions in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador is a critical way to address the root causes of migration and prevent the humanitarian crisis at our border,\u201d the retired soldiers, sailors, and Marines wrote on Monday. \u201cCutting aid to the region will only increase the drivers and will be even more costly to deal with on our border.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Lest you believe the view of these retired troops is outdated, some top people in the Trump administration share it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe also need to invest in Central America,\u201d Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection whom Trump just named as the acting homeland security secretary, told ABC News in December. \u201c[B]oth on security and the economic front in Central America, we need to foster that and help improve the opportunities to stay at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
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[MORE<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five former generals released a statement condemning Trump\u2019s plan to pull aid from Central America in response to migrants fleeing to the United States to escape violence in their home countries. Trump should listen to the advice of these former SOUTHCOM chiefs, who understand the realities on the ground. Vox: 5 former US military […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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