Funding pause and illegally gutting USAID would halt programs that fight drug trafficking, target cartel violence, mitigate illegal immigration
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, along with eight of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to address the Trump administration’s efforts to illegally dismantle USAID and end U.S. investments in the Western Hemisphere that help fight drug trafficking, reduce cartel violence, and stabilize the region.
“The United States is best able to project power around the world when we are comfortable in our own hemisphere. We are safer and more prosperous when our neighbors are safer and more prosperous,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to closely consider the disruption caused to U.S. security interests by the blanket freezing of these programs.”
The senators’ letter comes as Secretary Rubio completed his first trip to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. The senators highlighted specific USAID investments in each of these countries that have helped counter migration and drug trafficking, strengthen democratic institutions, and boost economic growth. Ending these programs leaves the region ripe for more Chinese investment across the region.
Hickenlooper also recently wrote to Secretary Rubio to raise alarm about the Trump administration’s illegal effort to dismantle USAID.
Full text of the letter is available HERE.
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