U.S. and Latin American officials are accusing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) of using American taxpayer money to support causes favored by left-wing candidates across Latin America, according to an exclusive report from Fox News Digital.
The allegations surface after several countries in the region elected conservative leaders. They also follow the Trump administration's move to dismantle USAID and transfer its remaining foreign assistance functions to the State Department.
Kevin Marino Cabrera, the U.S. Ambassador to Panama, told Fox News Digital that the agency overstepped its role. "You have plenty of examples out there of how USAID was attempting to run its own foreign policy," he said.
Cabrera said the agency's dismantling has let the State Department and U.S. Southern Command collaborate more closely with partner nations on disaster relief and recovery. He pointed to joint work in Jamaica, Venezuela, Colombia and now Panama, where he said teams have had great success responding to natural disasters.
"We're focused on actual disaster relief and recovery. We're not focused on these crazy agendas, like failed DEI policies that have nothing to do with foreign policy or disaster relief and recovery," Cabrera added. He also criticized what he described as a lack of leadership during the Biden administration, which he said allowed USAID to pursue programs promoting left-wing causes in the region.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian politician and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, made similar claims in an interview with The Daily Signal earlier this month. He alleged that more than $60 million in U.S. taxpayer funds went to Brazil through USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy and the Atlantic Council. By his account, the money supported organizations that combat what those groups call "right-wing misinformation."
The report notes that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has recently presented his government as a global champion of diversity, equity and inclusion. It adds that he has used prominent international forums to criticize what he describes as a coordinated wave of right-wing disinformation.
"This is foreign election interference," Eduardo Bolsonaro said. "American taxpayer dollars were financing foreign censorship in the name of the left, which is completely contrary to why USAID was even created in the first place."
He said President John F. Kennedy founded USAID with good intentions, but argued the agency later drifted from its original mission. "Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, ideological division and polarization diverted that initiative," he said.
The Atlantic Council and the National Endowment for Democracy did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
