As pressure on the White House to authorize lethal aid to Ukraine continues, it is important to have a clear picture of any potential risks in providing the Ukrainian military with weapons. Outside of whether such U.S. lethal aid may provoke Russia, high levels of corruption within the Ukrainian military present clear challenges in ensuring U.S. weapons are used responsibly in Ukraine.
This week Joe Biden took a two-day trip to meet with various leaders and organizations from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The goal was to emphasize the United States’ commitment to a proposed $1 billion aid package to help fund the Plan for the Alliance for Prosperity in the North Triangle, as well as discuss specifics and particular strategies to address chronic poverty, crime and corruption. The Plan for the Alliance for Prosperity in the North Triangle is designed to entice foreign investment, increase infrastructure and improve citizen security in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The Obama Administration announced in January 2015 a $1 billion package of assistance to Central America. Will this assistance help address the “perfect storm” of violence, impunity, corruption, drug violence, and militarization that we saw in Honduras?
As part of the State Department’s budget request for FY 2016 released on February 2, the Obama Administration is requesting a significant jump in security and one type of development aid to the Maghreb and Sahel countries of Africa to “address challenges to U.S. national security emanating” from the two sub-regions.
The Honduran government has been quietly barring public access to official security documents and budgets, while closing spaces for protest, dissent, and the press.
For the fourth year running San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second-largest city, has earned the title of most dangerous place on Earth outside of a war zone, with a 2014 murder rate of 171 per 100,000 people.