Additional Context: This information was obtained by Human Rights Watch, or HRW, in an April 2025 interview with a Venezuelan journalist who chose to remain anonymous. The journalist added that funding cuts to independent journalism have reduced the ability to expose abuses in border zones — in which armed groups and vulnerable migrant populations are present — or in areas inhabited by Indigenous communities affected by illegal mining.

HRW notes that U.S. aid cuts coincided with a wave of media repression in Venezuela following the 2024 presidential election, after which the national telecommunications authority ordered the closure of 23 media outlets, with 21 of them radio stations. Journalists report that U.S. aid cuts forced reporting to operate in an increasingly hostile environment under constrained bugets, making staff more vulnerable to persecution and arbitrary arrest.

Devex Researcher Note: While funding values are not discriminated by country and recipient for security reasons, the Americas were the region most impacted by U.S. government funding cuts to media, affecting around 450 projects in 22 countries.

Source: Human Rights Watch