Trump vilifies caravan, says he'll cut Central American aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. will begin cutting aid to three Central American countries he accused of failing to stop thousands of migrants heading for the U.S. border.

But across his administration there was no indication of any action in response to what he tweeted was a "National Emergy."

For hours on Monday, White House officials were unable to provide an explanation for the president's threats, which reflected both his apparent frustration with the migrant caravan and his determination to transform it into Republican election gains.

Federal agencies said they'd received no guidance on the president's declaration, issued as he attempts to make illegal immigration a focus of next month's midterm elections.

If Trump should follow through with his threat to end or greatly reduce U.S. aid, that could worsen the poverty and violence that are a root cause of the migration he has been railing against, critics said.

Trump tweeted, "Sadly, it looks like Mexico's Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States." He added without evidence that "criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in."

"I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy," he wrote. "Must change laws!"

Associated Press journalists traveling with the caravan for more than a week have spoken with Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans but have not met any of the "Middle Easterners" that Trump claimed had "mixed in" with the Central American migrants. It was clear, though, that more migrants were continuing to join the caravan.

Trump's tweets marked the latest escalation of his efforts to thrust immigration politics into the national conversation in the closing weeks of the congressional elections. He and his senior aides have long believed the issue – which was a centerpiece of his winning presidential campaign – is key to revving up his base and motivating GOP voters to turn out in November.

"Blame the Democrats," he wrote. "Remember the midterms."

At a campaign rally in Houston on Monday night, he falsely accused Democrats of "encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our laws, violate our borders and overwhelm our nation."

Trump for months has sought to use foreign aid as a cudgel more broadly, threatening to withhold humanitarian and other aid from "enemies of America" and using it to pressure foreign governments to bend to his will. On Monday, he said he would be making good on his threat.