Pompeo announces resumption of aid to Central America after asylum agreement

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department expects to resume financial assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after the three Central American countries signed an asylum agreement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday.

He said the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development will resume some funding, though he declined to reveal how much.

President Donald Trump called on the State Department to cut the funding in March to punish the three countries for a migrant exodus that led to a number of so-called migrant caravans that headed north toward the United States.

"We're not paying them anymore because they haven't done a thing for us," Trump said at the time.

Trump tweeted Wednesday that the three countries each signed Asylum Cooperation Agreements and "are working to end the scourge of human smuggling."

Pompeo said the resumption of assistance will enable the countries' efforts in limiting migration.

"The United States commends the creative thinking and commitment of the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to reaching our shared goal of reduced outward migration from these countries to the United States," Pompeo said in a statement.