The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America has led to vital changes in the country’s domestic and foreign policy priorities. The initial steps taken by the new White House administration after the election showcase that a more rational policy approach will be pursued. One of the main signals indicating this shift is the decision to limit the activities of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a major donor organization that Washington has historically used as a soft power tool. Reports indicate that the agency's website is no longer operational, and the nameplates bearing its name have been removed from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, USAID’s account on "X" has also been deleted. Additionally, Western media reports suggest that President Donald Trump, who has criticized USAID's activities, plans to merge it with the State Department and reduce its workforce, with an official announcement expected soon.
The sequence of events suggests that USAID will cease to function as an independent entity, marking one of the most significant shifts in U.S. foreign policy in recent years. While USAID publicly declares its mission to reduce global poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and assist people in humanitarian crises, it has, in reality, been one of the United States' primary "soft power" instruments. Under the guise of supporting democracy and economic initiatives, the agency has expanded its influence in more than 80 countries worldwide. Although it has implemented certain humanitarian projects, such as supporting entrepreneurship, women's rights, education, and healthcare, its true nature has been that of a subsidiary of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Former CIA Director John Gilligan once admitted, "From top to bottom, CIA agents were placed in USAID, covering everything from volunteer activities abroad to religious affairs." U.S. military and intelligence circles have utilized USAID as a means to alter political structures in countries that are not considered friendly to the U.S., often employing "soft power" tactics and supporting "color revolutions." To create the groundwork for such operations, millions of dollars in grants have been allocated over the years to non-governmental organizations, civil society, and media outlets under the pretext of support, often with a lack of transparency in how the funds were spent.
As one of the world’s largest donor organizations, USAID has been involved in numerous scandals over the years. One of the most notable examples is its attempt to incite a "color revolution" in Cuba. In 2010, the "ZunZuneo" social network was launched in Cuba. An investigation by the Associated Press later revealed that this platform was created by USAID to coordinate protest movements within the country, and to conceal its financial backing, a network of shell companies was used. Even the U.S. Congress was unaware of this covert operation by the CIA and USAID, believing it had approved funding for a completely different initiative.
Other controversial activities of USAID include organizing fake HIV prevention seminars in Latin America to undermine foreign governments, financially supporting heroin production in Afghanistan, allocating $27 million to a group of prosecutors funded by George Soros in exchange for targeting certain individuals and politicians and paying $20 million to the investigative journalism group OCCRP, which has frequently disseminated misinformation against Azerbaijan. The latter payment was allegedly linked to an effort to gather compromising information against former New York mayor and President Trump’s former cybersecurity advisor, Rudy Giuliani. Additionally, in October 2023, USAID was accused of funding three Serbian nationals who conducted training sessions in Georgia on violent protest methods aimed at changing the government. In recent months, a group of activists who protested and caused unrest following democratic elections in Georgia were also reportedly funded by USAID. Similarly, during protests in Serbia in November 2024, the involvement of NGOs and political forces connected to USAID raised no questions about where their directives originated.
These types of activities by USAID are too numerous to list exhaustively.
It is therefore unsurprising that the new U.S. administration is working to put an end to USAID's unlawful operations, which have funneled billions of dollars from American taxpayers into shadowy projects, "color revolutions," and geopolitical ventures. Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated for the position of U.S. Secretary of Health, openly stated in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson that the administration is striving for financial transparency and accountability.
"The protests called Maidan take place in Ukraine, but we are not told that we are financing these protests. The newspapers never told us, our government didn’t told us that USAID, which is a subsidiary of the Central Intelligence Agency, allocated 5 billion dollars for financing these protests," Kennedy stated.
U.S. leader Donald Trump and his team member Elon Musk had also announced shortly before the decision to freeze the Agency's foreign aid for 90 days that there were numerous questions regarding the Agency's activities.
"USAID has been run by radical fanatics. We will remove them, and then we will make the next decision," Trump stated.
However, the world's richest man and Trump’s close ally Elon Musk called USAID an "international criminal organization," made several serious accusations against it, and even accused it of financing biological weapons.
It can be predicted that abolishing the USAID or merging it with the State Department will be a step that serves global stability. It seems that the pragmatic White House Administration understands this, and at the same time, it does not want state funds to be spent on global destabilization processes.
It is worth specifically emphasizing that USAID has also actively participated in spreading false narratives against our country and in disinformation campaigns. The negative impact of USAID's activities in Azerbaijan is reflected not only in the lack of transparency, secrecy, and intervention in political processes but also in false accusations like "ethnic cleansing." This approach was actively conducted especially by Samantha Power, who was the 19th director of USAID. Power, claiming that Armenian residents, voluntarily leaving Karabakh, were subjected to ethnic cleansing, regularly directed millions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers to them. However, she has never once spoken about the rights or suffering of over one million Azerbaijanis who were displaced from their homes and unable to set foot in their ancestral lands for 30 years.
At that time, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration, appropriately responded to Samantha Power's biased remarks on his "X" account. He reminded the USAID director, known as a "human rights" lecturer, of her complete silence in the face of the genocide and acts of brutality committed by Armenia against innocent Azerbaijani civilians, and concluded his thoughts with words that would put an end to USAID's 32-year activity in Azerbaijan: "Mask Off! There is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer!"
Samantha Power, an Armenia-supporting figure who is friends with Ruben Vardanyan, a businessman who became wealthy through illegal means and financial manipulations in Russia and is now facing justice in Azerbaijan, also contributed to tarnishing the organization's reputation with her political ignorance, obvious bias, and actions contrary to the reasons for the establishment of USAID.
At this point, it is necessary to highlight the wisdom of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who is among the few political leaders in the world with the ability to analyze events and foresight. The head of state had accurately predicted the fate awaiting USAID in his interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, the Director-General of Russia's "Rossiya Segodnya" International Information Agency, on December 18 last year.
"Look, they have an organization called USAID. They want to help, but for some reason, they are not addressing the issues we need.
...I think Trump could ban it.
...I’m saying what I think, it could be eliminated," the president had stated.
It is worth reminding that due to its independent foreign policy, Azerbaijan has always faced hybrid threats and international disinformation campaigns funded by USAID. Despite these pressures, smear campaigns, and attempts to create artificial tension and issues within the country, Baku has never deviated from its independent foreign policy path. Recent developments once again demonstrate how correct and wise the path chosen by the Azerbaijani government and state is. USAID, which has repeatedly failed in its attempts to interfere in Azerbaijan's internal affairs and always stood by an Armenia-supporting stance, is now being disgracefully sent to the archives of history.
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