Counter-Terrorism & Conflict Stabilization
In Colombia, the dismantling of USAID has shuttered “peace and anti-gang programs in Colombia's most impoverished places, endangering implementation of the country's 2016 peace deal with leftist [The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] rebels.” In the past few years, Colombia has received “as much as $440 million annually in USAID assistance for more than 80 programs, making it the largest recipient of the agency's funds in the western hemisphere.”
Reuters, 03/18/2025
In Ukraine, “cash-based humanitarian programs that reached 1 million people last year were suspended.”
AP, 03/01/2025
A project to send U.S. security experts to allied countries — “including Albania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and others — to help build out security operations centers, train security practitioners and enhance critical infrastructure defenses across the region” has been terminated.
NextGov/FCW, 02/27/2025
In Benin, a multiyear program to train the army for counterterrorism operations has been put on hold. Benin is a historically strong democracy recently under threat from al-Qaeda-linked militants.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
In Gaza and dozens of other crisis zones, the organization and delivery of emergency aid supplies, including food, tents, mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and medical treatments, will be slowed or halted due to cuts to the USAID Mideast team.
The New York Times, 02/07/2025
Demining operations for nearly 100 teams in Cambodia were partially suspended. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with three deaths already in 2025 and over 1,600 square kilometers of contaminated land.
AFP, 01/31/2025
A US contractor managing a program “to train and equip thousands of Syrians to act as a police force, and provide them with vehicles and equipment” was forced to halt operations. “One of the company’s most critical roles is providing security inside Al Hol camp [in northern Syria], which houses some 39,000 ISIS members, their families and refugees…”
The New York Times, 01/30/2025
In Côte d'Ivoire, programs meant to stop the spread of al-Qaida and the Islamic State Group have ceased, including programs “helped young people get job training, built parks for cattle to graze so they are no longer stolen by jihadis on Malian territory, and helped establish an information-sharing system so residents can flag violent encounters to each other and state services.”
ABC, 03/16/2025
In Gaza, USAID cut its planned purchases to just over 1,000 of the 5,200 temporary homes it was supposed to provide during Phase 2 of the ceasefire. Thus far, USAID has not been able to purchase the homes “because of newly imposed policies requiring extra approvals for procurements.”
AP, 03/07/2025
The Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, designed to “improve the capacity of allies to respond to extremist threats,” has been suspended.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
“Contractors responsible for building and maintaining bases for U.S.-trained Somali special forces, known as Danab, left so abruptly that U.S. soldiers had to scramble to pick up the slack. Nearly 400 Danab graduates were left outside an American military base with no provision for food, fuel or electricity.”
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
Services including first responders, fuel for hospitals, and evacuation routes for refugees fleeing the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine have been halted.
ProPublica, 01/31/2025
A Virginia-based nonprofit had to stop work at the Al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. The nonprofit “handles aid distribution, electricity and latrines at the camps, and employs security guards for the camps’ warehouses and supply centers.” It also supports repatriation programs to reduce the number of refugees and limit “the potential for exploitation by ISIS.”
The New York Times, 01/30/2025
U.S. support, including drones for surveillance, detection and interdiction of al-Shabab militants along the Kenya-Somalia border have been suspended. A program to counter IEDs is also on hold.
The Washington Post, 02/16/2025
In Ukraine, six U.S.-funded projects to investigate Russian war crimes, valued at $89 million, are at risk. The projects include “the preservation of evidence from the battlefield to anti-corruption initiatives and reform of Ukraine's prosecution system.”
Reuters, 02/10/25
In Colombia, “at least three humanitarian organizations have suspended support operations for more than 41,000 people displaced by a recent outbreak of guerrilla violence.”
The Guardian, 01/30/2025
Supplies for front-line energy engineers in Ukraine — including body armor, armored vehicles, lights, communications equipment, winter clothing, and medical kits — are stuck in Poland. Deliveries of firewood to frontline Ukrainians were also halted in the middle of winter.
The New York Times, 01/28/2025
More than a dozen programs aimed at improving the cybersecurity and secure internet infrastructure of U.S. allies and partners have been terminated. “One contract alone to IBM, worth $95 million, helped Albania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, and other countries in Europe train cybersecurity personnel and enhance critical infrastructure defense.”
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, 03/17/2025
In Central America, a program “protecting human rights defenders at risk of being killed by guerilla groups by providing safe houses and legal support” was terminated.
Devex, 02/28/2025
All funding to the Palestinian Authority, including for training and reform of the security forces, has stopped. Funding the building of a virtual shooting range, which is necessary because Israel will not permit the importation of bullets for live-fire training, has been frozen.
The Washington Post, 02/19/2025