Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks arsenic President Donald Trump listens during a furniture meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, astatine Camp David, the statesmanlike retreat, adjacent Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026. Photo by: Jacquelyn Martin / AP, record
Associated Press
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026 | 9:43 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump medication is stripping tens of millions of dollars successful U.S. subject assistance from countries successful Europe and the Middle East to enactment conservative-leaning governments successful Central and South America.
The State Department connected Tuesday notified Congress that it volition reprogram $52 cardinal successful overseas subject financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru past week and pledged to them further enactment arsenic the Trump medication has prioritized the Western Hemisphere successful its overseas argumentation with an accent on combating cause trafficking and amerciable immigration.
It is conscionable the latest successful a bid of moves that person reduced either wealth oregon unit deployments to Europe successful effect to President Donald Trump's complaints astir NATO allies not spending capable connected their defence budgets and different matters. Both North Macedonia and Slovakia are NATO members.
But it besides comes arsenic the medication has enactment peculiar attraction connected the Western Hemisphere, aligning profoundly with right-wing governments arsenic Trump celebrates a renewal of the 19th period Monroe Doctrine establishing Washington's dominance successful the Americas.
Foreign subject financing provides recipient countries with U.S. payer dollars to let them to acquisition subject instrumentality from American defence contractors.
The State Department said the funds would beryllium utilized to “combat narcoterrorism successful our backyard and assistance proceed to unafraid the Panama Canal,” adding that the Western Hemisphere has been historically neglected successful U.S. subject assistance.
“These funds volition forestall adversaries from establishing strategical footholds successful our hemisphere,” the section said successful a veiled jab astatine China, which has progressively sought to boost its beingness successful Latin America.
The displacement of wealth does not destruct overseas subject financing for Tunisia, Iraq, North Macedonia oregon Slovakia, though the nonstop magnitude remaining for those countries was not instantly clear.
The State Department said, though, that the existent organisation of financing does “not align with the administration’s prioritization of” the Western Hemisphere.
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