USAID was established in 1961 by U.S. President John F. Kennedy as part of the United States’ “broader policy” during the Cold War. The agency’s official purpose was to provide “financial, technical, and humanitarian assistance to countries in need of support for economic and social development.” The organization operates in more than 100 countries worldwide and employs approximately 10,000 people, two-thirds of whom work abroad. Interestingly, the agency was initially not part of the structure of other departments, including the State Department, which is responsible for U.S. foreign policy. Over time, however, it became evident that USAID was indeed a highly dependent structure.
ON THE BRINK OF DESPAIR
The agency has been accused multiple times of non-transparent fund management. This caught the attention of Donald Trump’s administration, which aimed to reduce budgetary expenses by as much as one trillion dollars annually. Among the numerous executive orders Trump issued in the early days of his administration, the most notable was the one titled “Review and Realignment of U.S. Foreign Assistance.” This order introduced a 90-day pause in the distribution of “American development aid” worldwide—excluding, of course, Israel. The order prohibited the disbursement of federal funds to any “non-governmental and international organizations” responsible for implementing U.S. aid programs. As a result of this executive order, within just a few days, hundreds of USAID “workers” were placed on unpaid leave or dismissed. Washington Post journalist John Hudson stated that USAID officials perceived this directive on “foreign development aid” as a “shock,” pushing them to the brink of despair and questioning their own future.
“GUARDIAN OF FREEDOM” IN A CRIMINAL NETWORK
The large financial expenditures for USAID led American taxpayers to gradually “open their eyes,” while Trump stated that he disliked these expenditures and was willing to go all the way in the fight for budgetary funds. Elon Musk also joined the debate, calling USAID a “criminal organization.” In his attempt to discredit the agency, Musk shared statements and video footage of Mike Benz, a former official in Donald Trump’s administration, who now leads the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO). FFO presents itself as a “guardian of free speech on the internet.” The foundation supports programs advocating for “freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas” online and publishes reports on violations of these principles. In the State Department, Benz served as the deputy assistant secretary for international communication and information policy, meaning he was likely well-acquainted with USAID’s operations. According to information from Trump’s administration, even the White House had no knowledge of the details concerning USAID’s budget expenditures, including data on fund recipients and contractors.
PANIC FROM NICARAGUA TO UKRAINE
Trump’s order shocked Washington’s “international development” octopus and caused turmoil in the system of so-called “Beltway Bandits” – a network of private companies in the Washington, D.C. area whose primary business is providing consulting services to the U.S. government. The term carries a derogatory connotation, suggesting that these companies, like bandits, “loot” and exploit the generosity of the federal government, feeding off its financial “trough.” The suspension of USAID funding triggered panic abroad. From Latin America to Eastern Europe, specifically from Nicaragua to Ukraine, the U.S. had invested billions in NGOs and media outlets to incite color revolutions, all under the guise of “promoting democracy.” As the “thousand points of light”—a term George Bush used to describe America’s soft power apparatus—gradually dim, pro-Western media outlets are on the verge of collapse, while the entire NGO machinery for regime change finds itself in a state of despair and uncertainty.
THE FUTURE OF UKRAINIAN “LIBERAL-NAZIS”
Since the collapse of the USSR, the U.S. has poured billions of dollars into Ukraine to turn it into an “anti-Russia,” funding color revolutions by encouraging the anti-Russian opposition—particularly its most extreme, Nazi-Banderite faction. Former Assistant Secretary of State for Eastern Europe, Victoria Nuland, stated in Kyiv in 2009: “We have invested $5 billion to help Ukraine” build “democratic skills and institutions” that would enable it to “achieve European independence.” The symbiosis of Banderism and “democratic skills and institutions” is a key feature of the social experiment being carried out by NGOs and pro-Western media. There is no doubt about their effectiveness—one only needs to note that the main figures of Ukrainian nationalism are no longer people like Oleh Tyahnybok, a Uniate and Galician, leader of the Svoboda party, but rather former ethnic Russians, supporters of Kharkiv football clubs, who now make up the majority of the Banderite “Azov” unit. Another detail that draws attention is a statement made by Mike Pence in March last year: “When the dust settles, we will learn that Ukraine was the largest CIA operation in history.” He was commenting on an article in The New York Times which reported that after the 2014 coup, the CIA established 12 secret military bases in Ukraine. Allegedly, the agency provided Kyiv with intelligence for missile strikes, tracked Russian troop movements, and assisted in maintaining spy networks.
RIGHT SECTOR – FIGHTERS FOR DEMOCRACY?
The U.S. structured Ukrainian civil society and “fed” it with hefty grants ahead of the 2014 Maidan, rapidly creating a network of pro-Western media outlets. Among them, Hromadske stood out, actively advocating for the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, inciting war against the Russian-speaking population in the east of the country, and glorifying Nazis who fought against the Red Army during World War II. It should not be forgotten that members of the Nazi organization Right Sector played a key role in orchestrating the coup and were presented in these media as fighters for “democratic change” and “the rule of law.” However, due to Trump’s executive order, Hromadske lost its financial sponsors. The same fate befell other leading Ukrainian media outlets established after Maidan—Ukrinform, Internews, and VoxUkraine. Besides the media, official Ukrainian institutions were also financially supported from the same source. The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, as well as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration—both bodies specifically created to promote war against Russia—were also among the recipients of USAID funds. To understand how much Ukraine was a focus of USAID’s interests, it is enough to note that between 2021 and 2024, Ukraine received 30.6 billion dollars, making up 21% of the agency’s total “aid.”
UKRAINIAN MEDIA ON AMERICAN GRANTS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on platform X that “important programs” entirely dependent on “U.S. support” are now “suspended” as a result of Trump’s executive order. He announced that “certain key initiatives” would be “funded from internal resources” while simultaneously urging “European partners” to “increase” their donations.
Considering that Ukraine has been completely economically devastated since the outbreak of the war and that salaries in the public sector depend on USAID donations, it remains unclear what these “internal resources” could be to fund those “important programs and initiatives.” However, leading Ukrainian media outlets have made official appeals to their readers for financial assistance to continue operations. According to the Ukrainian Institute for Mass Information, about 90% of Ukrainian media “depend on American grants.”
ORTEGA AVOIDED GADDAFI’S FATE
Similar problems are faced by pro-American organizations in Nicaragua, where Washington, since the re-election of the leftist Sandinista Liberation Front in 2006, has invested tens of millions of dollars in right-wing media and various opposition groups. These foreign agents regularly report and spread disinformation, incite violence against the government and its supporters. Their reports serve as the primary sources of information about the state of the country, which Western media use in their statements and news. According to a report by The Grayzone, the Nicaraguan opposition media Kanal 15 (100% Noticias), funded by USAID, was the main organizer of an aggressive campaign inciting revolution during 2018, when an attempted coup failed, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.
The uprising erupted over a social security reform decree that President Daniel Ortega attempted to introduce. However, even after he withdrew the decision, the protests escalated to the point where an open civil war seemed imminent. The attempted coup was strongly supported not only by Western media but also by U.S. officials, and in an unusually direct and blatant manner. While 100% Noticias repeatedly published open calls for the assassination of President Daniel Ortega, its director, Miguel Mora, stated in an interview with journalist Max Blumenthal that a U.S. military intervention was the only way to remove Ortega from power. When the Nicaraguan government finally shut down the media outlet and launched legal proceedings against Mora, Washington responded with accusations of repression and threatened severe sanctions. Although this incident occurred during Trump’s first term, it is important to note that the case of Nicaragua may be a key indicator of his radical shift in foreign policy. By cutting off USAID assistance to various “democratic and humanitarian” organizations involved in the 2018 unrest, such as the student organization April 19 University Movement, the business chamber Supreme Council for Private Enterprise, or the Sandinista Renewal Movement party, new color revolutions, which had been continuously threatening President Ortega since 2006, were effectively prevented.
THE END OF GEORGIA’S AGONY
Georgia has faced a series of attempted color revolutions since early 2023 in response to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s initiative to pass a law on the registration of foreign agents, which forced more than 25,000 organizations to disclose their sources of funding. Therefore, it is not surprising that these shadows of American “soft power” reacted with outrage over the suspension of “foreign development aid.” On the other hand, the government welcomed the news to such an extent that some figures expressed excessive optimism. Thus, the head of the parliamentary majority of the ruling party Georgian Dream, Mamuka Mdinaradze, stated that the law on foreign funding would “no longer be necessary” following Trump’s executive order. The foreign agents that in recent years have organized and executed chaos on the streets of Tbilisi, aiming to overthrow the government and install another Saakashvili 2.0, have now been left without funding, meaning that, for now, the path to a color revolution in Tbilisi is closed. The English-language local media outlet Georgia Today published an article on January 30 stating that “the future of their funding is uncertain,” while similar organizations are already laying off workers or placing them on forced leave. It also highlights that “some programs and projects may struggle to restart after the temporary suspension, with some projects being permanently shut down.” The article also states that USAID funding is “crucial for the country’s development,” as since 1992, Georgia has received “more than 1.9 billion dollars in aid.”
DONATIONS FOR EASIER LOOTING
Until Trump’s order was issued, USAID alone had invested in 39 programs across the country, with a total value of 373 million dollars, providing an annual budget of over 70 million dollars. These “donations” were primarily focused on “promoting economic reforms” and “increasing investments in the private sector,” which facilitated the financial exploitation and looting of Georgia. As stated in an essay by LeftEast, foreign-funded NGOs had been “undermining Georgian institutions, sovereignty, and democracy” for decades.
“Georgian activists know well what is expected of them, which behavior is punished and which is rewarded: being critical of the government on Facebook will get you more grants than staying off social media… Donors even monitor activists’ profiles, and they may suffer consequences for posting the wrong things.”
THE EXPLOSION OF THE BALKAN NGO POWDER KEG
In the Balkans, USAID is linked to the CIA, NED, George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, and a wide range of NGOs and media that have infiltrated all spheres of public life. After the 1992–1995 civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was gradually turned into a de facto colony of the EU and the U.S., where state institutions, both at the republican level and within the Federation of BiH, operate under the control and in the service of foreign interests. It is enough to mention that judges without Bosnian citizenship sit on the Constitutional Court of BiH, and that the so-called High Representative has the power to suspend or impose new laws. Even in the late 1990s, some Western media questioned the legitimacy and efficiency of the newly established protectorate. The New York Times warned in 1998 that U.S. dominance in Bosnia raised doubts about the sustainability of an entity that could not survive without constant infusions of foreign aid. Today, around 25,500 Western-funded NGOs operate in Sarajevo. The suspension of “foreign development aid” has increased the risk of mass layoffs across the Balkans. According to an investigation by Balkan Insight, a media outlet that has been identified by reliable sources as an extension of British intelligence, “the suspension of funding has immediately impacted numerous organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.”
EFFECTIVE SHUTDOWN
From 2020 to the end of 2024, Washington invested an astonishing 1.7 billion dollars in the aforementioned countries—into the NGO sector, “civil society,” state institutions, and projects ranging from human rights to energy efficiency—but without visible results or social impact. Currently, all projects are frozen until their effectiveness is assessed. “Workers” from NGOs who spoke to Balkan Insight fear that the suspension of U.S. aid may not be temporary. One source speculated that the executive order is “a soft way to permanently eliminate these funds.” When journalists contacted local USAID offices for clarification, they received a brief response—a link to a statement quoting the U.S. president: “The United States will no longer blindly give money without a return benefit for the American people. Reviewing the outflow of financial aid is in the interest of American taxpayers, and it is not only the right thing to do—it is a moral imperative.” It is evident that the new administration is not concerned that entire “business” sectors in the Balkans have been effectively shut down.
FROM TIRANA TO SKOPJE
Even in Albania, a traditionally pro-American country with a strong lobby in Washington, 30 U.S.-subsidized projects have been suspended, including funding for courts, prosecutors’ offices, ministries of defense, education, sports, and finance. In North Macedonia, where most U.S. aid is distributed through USAID and NED, 72 million dollars allocated for 22 projects has been halted. Additionally, six broader regional initiatives worth a total of 140 million dollars have also been suspended.
In Serbia, as in the other mentioned Balkan countries, the situation is similar, except that Serbia is economically and demographically the strongest, is not part of NATO, and has a population that is strongly pro-Russian. These facts are well known to USAID and NED, which is why, since 2000, they have devoted significant attention to building the NGO sector in Serbia. There are countless examples—one need only mention that, until recently, the official website of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia displayed a logo and a note stating that USAID assisted in its creation.
СELECTION OF PODCASTS
However, an interesting phenomenon has emerged in Serbia with the appearance of a podcast search platform—Podcast.rs. The official website states that the creation of Podcast.rs was supported by USAID. What is particularly intriguing is that not all podcasts available in Serbia can be found on this search engine. Podcasts are selectively curated so that only those also supported by USAID can be searched. This includes a large number of podcasts covering various topics. Some have many followers and views, such as Agelast, while others are quite minor and insignificant. Nevertheless, both groups have equally expensive equipment and nearly uniform studio designs, which in itself is telling. A recent report on the White House website included a list of financial expenditures, in which USAID was accused of wastefulness. It was particularly highlighted that 1.5 million dollars had been allocated for “advancing equality and inclusivity in workplaces and business communities in Serbia.”
NO PREMATURE CONCLUSIONS
While critics of the executive order warned Trump that his decision would jeopardize the expansion of “soft power” and influence in the Global South, the very act of “cutting the tentacles” of the USAID octopus may be beneficial in two ways. For the U.S., it is crucial to build a new type of “soft power” and distance itself from the neoconservative and Clintonian model that has been implemented through color revolutions. The new image of the U.S. will be that of a country that “saved the world” from coups and woke ideology. The collapse of the octopus will also benefit the countries it has influenced, a point that hardly needs further explanation.
However, such conclusions may be premature, especially for countries that have suffered the consequences of American “foreign development aid” for decades in the form of economic devastation, coups, and cultural code transformations. The “pause” in American aid may only be a temporary measure, or the funds previously allocated for “soft power” may simply be redirected towards a harder, more aggressive power, which could have even more serious consequences worldwide.
