Trump diverts Ukraine aid to authoritarian countries in Latin America
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The Trump administration is redirecting tens of millions of dollars in military aid from the European and Middle Eastern allies it had been allocated to by Congress and sending it instead to authoritarian and conservative-leaning regimes in Latin America.
Last month, the State Department notified leaders of the House and Senate foreign relations committees of its intent to divert the funds from their intended recipients, leading Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Gregory Meeks — the ranking Democrats on both panels — to send a letter in protest.
Shaheen and Meeks noted that the State Department’s decision to redirect upwards of $52 million in Foreign Military Finance funds meant for Ukraine, Europe and Middle Eastern partners to Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru had not been properly justified.
“We urge you to utilize the funds for the purpose required by Congress,” they said, adding that they were placing a hold on the diversion of those funds.
“We will consider a breach of this hold and the transfer of funds to violate statutory requirements and to have consequences for the Department’s relationship with our committees," they continued, adding later that the funds in question had been “specifically appropriated by Congress for a particular national security objective: aiding Ukraine and countries impacted by the war in Ukraine.”
But the State Department has ignored the House and Senate members’ instructions and on Wednesday notified Congress that it was diverting the funds from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to the Latin American nations led by Trump allies.
The move, which was first reported by The Washington Post, is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Trump administration to boost authoritarian leaders in Latin America while undermining America’s relationship with traditional allies and undercutting Congress’ authority over government spending.
“The funds used in our region will combat narco-terrorism in our hemisphere and help continue to secure the Panama Canal,” the department said. It added that they would also “strengthen U.S. security partnerships and counter adversary military influence in our shared region.”
The $52 million at issue was first appropriated during the Biden administration after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 with the purpose of encouraging European allies to share munitions stockpiles with Kyiv.
The program had been intended to allow those countries to purchase American military equipment while passing off their old stockpiles of Soviet-era weaponry to Ukraine.
Rubio, a longtime opponent of left-leaning governments in Latin America, has visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in recent months to push for support in the Trump administration’s crackdown on what it claims are narco-trafficking boats in South and Central American waters.
The governments in Ecuador and Colombia are closely aligned with the White House and have cooperated with the administration’s requests for more assistance in combatting narcotics trafficking.
