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posted by Fnord666 on Friday December 21 2018, @10:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-a-lot-if-plantains dept.

U.S., Supporting Mexico's Plan, Will Invest $5.8 Billion in Central America

The United States, joining an effort by Mexico, will commit to investing billions in Central America in hopes of ending the poverty, violence and drug-trafficking that are driving thousands of people in the region to undertake the difficult trek to the United States, the State Department announced on Tuesday.

Mexico's new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, introduced what he called a "Marshall Plan" last week to address the root causes of Central American migration: a $30 billion initiative to invest in the region and welcome migrants into Mexico with visas, health care and employment.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration signaled its support for the plan, saying it was committing $5.8 billion in private and public investments in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Much of that amount, however, was previously committed or contingent on the identification of "commercially viable projects."

Also at The Washington Post and The Hill.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday December 21 2018, @11:45PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday December 21 2018, @11:45PM (#777363) Journal

    Holy shit, I just realized that the number is almost exactly the amount that the House of Representatives passed for funding the wall:

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/20/government-shutdown-house-adds-border-wall-funding-spending-bill/2381057002/ [usatoday.com]

    The House responded by introducing its own spending package that also would fund the government through Feb. 8, but would include $5.7 billion for a border wall and nearly $8 billion in disaster relief to compensate communities hit hard by this year’s hurricanes and wildfires.

    Coincidence?!?!?!

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  • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Saturday December 22 2018, @12:17AM

    by fyngyrz (6567) on Saturday December 22 2018, @12:17AM (#777375) Journal

    Coincidence?!?!?! Corruption?!?!?!

    Fixed your spelling error there. No need to thank me, I've been here all day.

    Also, Betteridge's law of headlines doesn't apply here, as your remark actually ended with an "!"; and strangely enough, the answer is almost certainly "yes." Well. Once the spelling issue was addressed, anyway. Otherwise, probably no.

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  • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Saturday December 22 2018, @03:34AM (2 children)

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 22 2018, @03:34AM (#777425) Homepage Journal

    Changing social circumstances so that central Americans don't want to migrate is probably as effective a building a bigger wall.

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday December 22 2018, @04:24AM (1 child)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday December 22 2018, @04:24AM (#777437) Journal

      Maybe, but one of those ~$5.8 billion piles gets us a wall, presumably made with at least some American materials and labor (acting as economic stimulus), while the other ~$5.8 billion goes into the pockets of G_d-knows-who, with no guarantee of effectiveness. Kind of like giving food aid to Africa which ends up diverted to warlords. Or it could end up being used for the usual counterproductive purposes such as fueling a Drug War. Since the way to achieve stability is obviously to fund attacks against cartels and burn fields of coca plants... right?

      So given the two choices, maybe mixing up some concrete, steel memes, and slapping some sensors into the ground isn't such a waste o' money.

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      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday December 22 2018, @01:44PM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 22 2018, @01:44PM (#777526) Journal

        Maybe, but one of those ~$5.8 billion piles gets us a wall, presumably made with at least some American materials and labor (acting as economic stimulus), while the other ~$5.8 billion goes into the pockets of G_d-knows-who, with no guarantee of effectiveness.

        In other words, not much difference. The aid will probably be linked to kickbacks to US businesses as well.