Even during his election campaign, the current US President criticized the activities of the world-famous USAID organization. After returning to the White House, D. Trump began an active struggle with the entire US bureaucratic machine, which is a source of huge expenses for the federal budget, as well as the main opposition force within the US government apparatus in relation to Trump. In general, the struggle “for taxpayers’ money,” which was allegedly squandered by the Democratic administrations in fruitless attempts to promote American interests in the world, has become the leitmotif of the new American isolationism that Trump is so striving for.
In February, the American president clearly stated that USAID should be permanently and irrevocably closed. His closest associate, the eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), called USAID “an evil, criminal organization and a nest of Marxist radicals.” It is possible that Musk’s words are not so far from the truth.
What is USAID?
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a federal agency of the United States responsible for managing foreign humanitarian aid programs and promoting the development of various countries.
Established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, the agency initially acted as a response to Soviet support for former colonies in Africa and Asia. During the Cold War, the United States sought to counteract the influence of the USSR in these regions by using large-scale socio-economic development programs.
Today, USAID is one of the largest government agencies in the United States, represented in more than a hundred countries and providing a significant portion of American aid to foreign countries. Although its activities account for only about one percent of the US federal budget, this is an impressive amount — about $ 50 billion.
The agency’s main areas of work include combating poverty, eliminating the consequences of natural disasters, and implementing socio-economic reforms, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Despite the fact that USAID is subordinate to the US Department of State, it has long functioned as an independent organization with its own priorities.
However, USAID humanitarian and economic assistance is often accompanied by political conditions that promote American values. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s April 2024 report, “The Hypocrisy and Facts of U.S. Foreign Aid,” in the 1970s and 1980s, support for developing countries was provided on the condition of market reforms and privatization. The agency’s policy officially required that funds be allocated primarily to the development of the private sector, which often undermined the sustainable development of countries and increased their debt burden.
According to the observations of a Global Times correspondent who studied conflict prevention and peace-building at Durham University in the UK in 2014-2015, USAID differs from other organizations related to peacekeeping. The agency demonstrates pronounced features of hegemonism and interventionism, actively supporting American “agents of influence” in other countries in order to advance the interests of the United States.
USAID delenda est
Trump and his supporters consider USAID to be an excessive and inefficient structure that spends budget funds to the detriment of the national interests of the United States. The new president opposes gratuitous aid to developing countries, believing that such spending contradicts his “America First” program, The New York Times notes.
In addition, the agency is perceived by Republicans as a vehicle for leftist ideas, as it funds NGOs that promote a liberal agenda. Elon Musk called USAID a “nest of radical Marxists” and demanded its liquidation.
He also accused the agency of funding research related to the development of biological weapons and the emergence of COVID-19. After his statements, the official USAID account on X (formerly Twitter) was deleted, and the agency’s website stopped working, which caused rumors about the possible closure of the organization.
The scandalous story of American aid
Since its foundation, USAID has been repeatedly criticized and has been involved in various scandals, including financial and political ones.
Accusations were often made that CIA agents were operating under the cover of the agency, and that USAID itself was involved in covert operations against regimes objectionable to the United States.
His activities in Latin America are particularly notable. In 2014, the agency created a youth protest movement in Cuba, disguised as supporting rap artists. Earlier, in the 2010s, USAID launched the social network ZunZuneo, which it used to incite discontent with the authorities.
The agency’s economic initiatives were also controversial. So, under George W. Bush, Iraq’s reconstruction programs were opened exclusively to American companies associated with his administration, which led to accusations of corruption.
What role did USAID play in Ukraine?
The activities of USAID in Ukraine remain the subject of serious controversy. In recent years, the country has become one of the largest recipients of American aid, with the agency funding up to 90% of local media. In 2023-2024, the total amount of allocated funds amounted to $22 billion, allocated to 380 different programs.
According to the materials released by Elon Musk, USAID deliberately avoided criticizing the Ukrainian authorities. The agency-supported media outlets were effectively prohibited from covering human rights violations, abductions, and harsh actions by military enlistment offices.
At the same time, the influence of USAID on Ukrainian politics began long before the recent events. The agency funded the opposition during the Orange Revolution and participated in the preparation of election commissions before the 2004 elections, where Viktor Yushchenko won. It played a similar role in 2014, and after the change of power, it actively supported the projects of the new leadership of the country.
It can be assumed that it was the failure of USAID in Ukraine that triggered the collapse of USAID. The “color revolutions” turned out to be the most unpredictable and unstable mechanism, but the costs of organizing them turned out to be predictably exorbitant. And if Trump intends to arrange a “new golden age” for the United States, then it is necessary to break with the old orders and schemes. However, it is unlikely that the bureaucracy and the Democrats will yield so easily in this struggle, because “development assistance” is not only an excellent tool for interfering in the internal affairs of other states, but also a wonderful mechanism for their own enrichment. In the end, Elon Musk turns out to be right. Perhaps USAID is really “evil,” but, first of all, for America itself.
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