USAID moves out, gangs move in: The cost of aid cuts in Colombia
When U.S.-funded youth programs closed in Colombia’s Chocó province, they left behind a vacuum that gangs and armed groups were quick to exploit. Drawing on reporting from affected communities, The Aid Report traces the unraveling of years of prevention work.
Photo Credit: Alfie Pannell
An ISIS-linked insurgency gains ground as U.S. support disappears in northern Mozambique ↳
The halt of U.S.-supported livelihood, governance, and stabilization programs in Cabo Delgado has widened the vacuum exploited by ISIS-aligned militants, CNN reports. As community development projects, youth employment initiatives, and local conflict-mitigation efforts collapse, insurgents are expanding recruitment and territory — a reversal that underscores how aid cuts can destabilize fragile regions and raise long-term security costs.
Trump cut Nigeria’s aid back in March. Now he wonders why it’s so violent [LA Times] ↳
U.S. cuts to early-warning, stabilization, and police-accountability programs have eroded Nigeria’s ability to prevent violence — unrest now cited to justify harsher security measures, an LA Times contributor writes.
The cuts that bleed: What happens when peace programs go dark
As U.S.-funded initiatives disappear, this peace-building organization says they’re “operating blind” in one of Nigeria’s most fragile regions.
In Boko Haram’s birthplace, USAID’s collapse threatens a school for victims of extremism [AP] ↳
A USAID-funded school for children orphaned or displaced by Boko Haram now faces closure after U.S. funding was halted, leaving hundreds of students in limbo.
‘The cartels and clans are ecstatic’: How USAID cuts have emboldened Colombia’s narcos [The Telegraph] ↳
Drug cartels and criminal clans in Colombia are gaining ground as peacebuilding programs collapse. The Telegraph links the resurgence to the loss of USAID support.