By Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -The U.N. refugee agency in Mexico plans to close four offices in the Latin American country due to a “serious funding crisis” the agency is facing, a UNHCR official told Reuters.
Two of the offices are in the southern Mexican cities of Palenque and Tenosique, near the border with Guatemala. The agency has also laid off 190 employees due to the funding crunch, the official said.
UNHCR’s operation in Mexico has been heavily dependent on U.S. funding, which has been hit by President Donald Trump’s global funding freeze.
On January 20, hours after taking office, Trump ordered a pause in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. Trump also enacted a sweeping crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border, aimed at slowing migration into the United States.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
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