The cut to USAID shake Latin America and leaves important social programs in Limbo

Latin America will face the consequences of the suspension of the funds and the cut of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which in 2024 contributed to the region 2.3 billion dollars, a decision adopted by President Donald Trump, that threatens the continuity of programs in 130 countries and will harm millions of people who until now benefited from US cooperation.

What began as a temporary measure of ninety days to «reduce public spending and bureaucracy, reevaluate the efficacy of programs and prevent the possible improper use of funds» has become an uncertain situation for USAID, an entity that « The time has come to die, ”according to Magnate Elon Musk, head of the US government efficiency department.

Although a federal judge temporarily blocked the decision this Friday, Trump plans to reduce his staff from 10,000 to only 290 positions, which are considered «essential,» according to The New York Times, and has transferred his control to the State Department, ending six decades of operations of the agency, which has allocated billions of dollars to humanitarian programs worldwide, including Latin America, whose office will be reduced to eight people.

According to official US government data, in 2024 USAID distributed more than 44,000 million dollars in global aid. Of this sum, around 2.3 billion dollars were directed to initiatives in Latin America, representing a fundamental pillar for various programs.

«The United States is a key donor and its absence is irreplaceable. Even if we add all European contributions in Colombia, they would not reach half of American aid, ”says Efe Elizabeth Dickinson, senior crisis analyst for the Andean region.

In Colombia, USAID contributions amounted to almost 400 million dollars in 2024, aimed at humanitarian programs, judicial cooperation, security, education, health, peace, equality, environment, culture and migration. The situation is similar in other countries in the region.

Effects on the migratory crisis

One of the programs most affected by the cutting of funds throughout the region is immigration management that, paradoxically, is also one of the key issues of the Trump administration.

In that sense, Stephani López, consultant in immigration policies, warns that the reduction of funds «directly impacts entities such as Migration Colombia and the migrants and refugees program of the State Department», which limits the operational capacity in key areas such as the Borders with Venezuela and Ecuador.

In addition, the US migratory outsourcing policy, which delegated part of the management to countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Panama, now faces an uncertain panorama.

«The closure of safe mobility offices, which facilitated permits and visas, imposes more barriers to migrants,» explains López, who also warns that the lack of financing for reintegration strategies «leaves the returnees in greater vulnerability, without effective programs that facilitate their social and economic inclusion ».

While there are other sources of financing, such as loans from multilateral organizations, these «are not enough to cover the void left by USAID», which forces governments to assume a more active role in the sustainability of migrant care initiatives .

Record to technical accompaniment

The reduction of American cooperation also affects key technical areas in Brazil and Peru, where authorities have expressed concern about the possible decrease in funds for the protection of Amazon and the fight against drug trafficking.

In Brazil, Usaid signed an agreement with the government in 2015 to allocate 300 million dollars until 2030 for the preservation of the Amazon ecosystem and the well -being of rural communities. Although the program is still underway, some local NGOs have received financing suspension notifications, which generates uncertainty about the future of initiatives such as food assistance to migrants in Roraima (north).

Meanwhile, in Peru the suspension could affect access to 630 million dollars until 2030 and about sixty NGOs that depend on these funds. Although the government has assured that key programs such as the fight against drug trafficking and Amazon protection will not be affected, it acknowledges that non -governmental organizations could be harmed.

For Dickinson, the abrupt cancellation of these programs not only leaves without support to those who sought to improve their living conditions, but also exposes community leaders to uncertainty and possible reprisals.

«The trust of communities in international support has been seriously affected, generating a vacuum that could be used by illegal actors,» he adds.

Health, education and rural development, also affected

Meanwhile in Guatemala, the freezing of 275.3 million dollars puts at risk projects such as justice, education, health, women’s rights and agriculture, while in Honduras, where in 2024 about 100 million dollars were received in 2024 , key sectors such as education, health, agriculture and care for migrants, as well as the fight against corruption, will be affected.

Although the Government of Xiomara Castro minimizes the measure, organizations such as the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Ombudsman of Human Mobility alert their effects, especially in the protection of victims of forced displacement.

Despite the ideological closeness between Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration, in El Salvador, the withdrawal of funds also endangers initiatives focused on human development, employment, education, transparency, innovation, investment and alliances for economic growth.

In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum has celebrated the suspension of aid by considering that she has financed opposition groups, but organizations that support migrants, women and people LGBTI warn of the risk of disappearing. In Eight, in the south of the country, Usaid mobilized about 30 million dollars for projects and generated 250 million dollars in investment between 2021 and 2023, according to official data.

In the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader, he urged the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to restore Haiti humanitarian aid to avoid a migratory crisis and support the multinational security mission, and warned him that the situation represents a regional threat that requires a coordinated response.

The reduction will generate a huge emptiness that governments must face, because the US contribution represented so far 47 percent of the global spending on humanitarian assistance, «a significant budgetary challenge, in a context of common fiscal challenges throughout the region,» he warns Elizabeth Dickinson. EFE