Central America faces U.S. carrot and stick with aid money

The State Department announced plans to give $310 million in humanitarian aid to cover the “immediate needs” of migrants across Central America, as part of a plan to combat the root causes of rising migration from the region.

Why it matters: Those funds will partly go through the very Central American governments that the U.S. has punished for having corrupt officials.

Driving the news: Members of Congress tell Axios they’re pushing a bill for sanctions and restrictions against Juan Orlando Hernández, the Honduran leader.

• He is under investigation in the U.S. for purported links with drug-traffickers. The president’s brother, former Honduran Congressman Tony Hernández, got a life sentence for cocaine dealings in March.

Between the lines: Mismanagement of resources and embezzlement of public funds have long created deep problems in these Central American countries.

• Both Guatemala and Honduras had independent anti-corruption commissions, backed partly with U.S. funding. They were dismantled by their governments in 2019 and 2020, respectively.