On 14 October the US State Department confirmed that it had certified the Honduran government for the receipt of foreign assistance amounting to US$55m, having told congress that the country had met conditions including improved security and governance. Honduras is also one of the main recipients of US funds under the latest (2016) US$750m annual assistance package for the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala), due for renewal at year-end. President Juan Orlando Hernández, who has taken a hard line on drug trafficking and organised crime and boasts of success in reducing the country’s world-high murder rate, has been a solid US ally since taking office in January 2014. However, recent events, including an allegation that the president’s own brother may be among several dozen officials suspected by the US of involvement in the narco-trade, threaten to put severe strain on US-Honduran cooperation, following an already difficult year.End of preview - This article contains approximately 1468 words.
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