• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • Central American crisis

    In Guatemala, Pelosi delegation presses NGOs for aid program results

    A U.S. congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Guatemala City on Thursday, where NGOs shared information about U.S.-funded projects and the impact of funding cuts.

    By Teresa Welsh // 09 August 2019
    U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks to U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Luis Arreaga upon arriving in Guatemala City. Photo by: REUTERS

    GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — NGOs must do a better job of communicating results of foreign assistance programs in the Northern Triangle in the face of funding cuts, a U.S. congressional delegation told organization representatives in a meeting in Guatemala City on Thursday.

    Representatives from Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Plan International, and Save the Children met with the 13-member delegation, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California. The delegation is visiting the Northern Triangle — El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — after President Donald Trump cut off U.S. foreign aid earlier this year because the countries have not stopped their citizens from migrating to the U.S. southern border.

    More on Central America:

    ►Implementers, missions in the dark about Central America assistance cuts

    ► Following review, US 'will not provide new funds' to Central America

    ► 'Rescission by another name.' Trump move sparks questions for implementers

    John Lundine, Guatemala country director for Plan International, said the House members expressed concern over the funding cuts, highlighting the counterproductive nature of eliminating programs designed to help vulnerable populations who often migrate. Members wanted more information about how U.S.-funded NGO projects were helping address root causes of migration.

    “As organizations who are doing international development work, we need to communicate better the results that we have. I think we do that, but to consolidate those results and communicate them better to Congress is a challenge for us,” Lundine said. “We could do it in a bit more targeted and better way to decision-makers ... These members of Congress understand that it would be counterproductive to the overall efforts here to sustain the cuts in aid.”

    Directly tying the impact of NGO programs to a decrease in migration is extremely difficult, Lundine said, because it is hard to quantify the number of people who were thinking of migrating but decided not to do so directly as a result of an education or jobs program.

    In the 45-minute meeting, each NGO gave a presentation highlighting its activities in Guatemala. The delegation also visited a children’s shelter supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, a visit Pelosi called “sobering.” The facility serves Guatemalan children, as well as those who have migrated from El Salvador and Honduras. The delegation included House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, who authored a bill that would prevent future aid from being cut off in the Northern Triangle; and California Rep. Norma Torres, who was born in Guatemala.

    “The leaders underscored the positive role of U.S.-supported initiatives in ensuring regional stability and the well-being of Guatemalans, which in turn reduces migration to the U.S. The delegation believes that given the proven success of these projects, U.S. support must be restored,” Pelosi said of the NGO meeting. “The purpose of our visit to the Northern Triangle was to enhance regional stability and engage leaders in a discussion of migration.”

    The group also met with U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Luis Arreaga; the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known as CICIG; judges who support an independent judiciary; and Guatemalan business leaders.  

    “It seemed clear that they were on a fact-finding mission and trying to get the perspective of different stakeholders here,” said Catholic Relief Services Country Representative Paul Townsend. “We talked a lot about the decades-old relationships and trust that both USAID and these NGOs have developed over the years here in Guatemala and how these funding cuts are impacting our ability to follow through on what we promised.”

    The aid cutoff can also impact positive steps made by Northern Triangle governments, Townsend said, because NGOs develop relationships with policymakers and can get a seat at the table to advocate for more investment in positive development policy at the national level.

    Lundine said the NGOs also expressed their concern to the congressional members about the “safe third country” agreement the Guatemalan government signed with the U.S. While no specifics of the deal have been released publicly, it would mandate a refugee from Honduras or El Salvador seeking asylum in the U.S. must first seek asylum in Guatemala.

    The country won’t be able to properly handle the vulnerable population that migrates because of the threat of violence, Lundine said.

    “If the United States deports them to Guatemala, they’re not going to be very likely … to return to their home country,” Lundine said. “Therefore if you create a situation where you have internally displaced people or people who are awaiting a judicial process in Guatemala. That could be concerning to us because it could be potentially very problematic. We don’t feel that the Guatemalan government has a lot of capacity to deal with that.”

    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Save the Children USA
    • Mercy Corps
    • Plan International
    • Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Teresa Welsh

      Teresa Welshtmawelsh

      Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    Displacement and MigrationHow US aid cuts hurt migrant and refugee programs

    How US aid cuts hurt migrant and refugee programs

    European UnionScoop: EU wants development staff in regional hubs, not delegations

    Scoop: EU wants development staff in regional hubs, not delegations

    The Trump effectNGOs in Afghanistan left guessing on waivers as humanitarian aid stalls

    NGOs in Afghanistan left guessing on waivers as humanitarian aid stalls

    Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: USAID staff experience the personal toll of professional loss

    Devex Newswire: USAID staff experience the personal toll of professional loss

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
    • 5
      WHO names new directors in ongoing restructure
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement