Pentagon to stop buying several F-35 stealth planes and drones to free up $ 3.8 billion for the wall US President Donald Trump wants to erect on the border with Mexico, documents say Thursday at the Congress.
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The funds will be transferred to the tune of $ 2.2 billion from the Pentagon's 2020 budget lines that had been allocated to the purchase of equipment for the US Air Force and the US Navy, according to these documents, including AFP. got a copy. The rest comes from funds initially planned for the US military's external operations (Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq).
This new envelope brings to $ 9.9 billion the funds allocated since July by the Defense Ministry to the wall that Donald Trump has promised to erect at the border with Mexico to fight against illegal immigration. The Pentagon's budget, which exceeds $ 700 billion a year, is allocated to programs strictly defined by Congress, on a proposal from the executive.
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But the Pentagon has some $ 6 billion in discretionary funds, which can be reprogrammed provided they are spent on " urgent " programs. Among the equipment sacrificed on the wall, the documents handed over to Congress mention the F-35s, armed MQ-9 " Reaper " drones , C-130J cargo planes and " Poseidon " P-8 maritime reconnaissance planes.
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In 2019, the United States faced an explosion of human smuggling from Mexico, mainly Central Americans fleeing violence and misery in their country. This influx led to a border crisis with overcrowded reception centers and deplorable sanitary conditions.