Washington, D.C.--Today, Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, made the following statement regarding the decision by the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to terminate $11 million of Honduras’s $215 million compact:

“I have been increasingly concerned by the unwillingness of the de facto government in Honduras to accept the San Jose Accord. The United States has tried its best to diplomatically convince the Micheletti government to agree to President Oscar Arias's excellent proposal, but has been met by intransigence and unrealistic demands. I agree with the MCC Board of Directors and Secretary of State Clinton that stepping up the pressure is the only remaining course. I, therefore, commend the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors for terminating $11 million of our compact with Honduras.”