Trump diverts Ukraine aid to authoritarian countries in Latin America

The Trump administration is moving about $52 million in military financing away from Ukraine, Europe and Middle Eastern partners and sending it to four Latin American governments: Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. The State Department told Congress on Wednesday that the money would come out of allocations for Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq. It did so despite a hold imposed by the senior Democrats on the congressional foreign affairs panels, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Gregory Meeks, according to The Independent.

Shaheen and Meeks had written in protest after an earlier notification, arguing that the diversion was not properly justified and that Congress had earmarked the funds for helping Ukraine and countries affected by its war. They warned that breaching the hold would damage the department's relationship with their committees. The Washington Post first reported the move.

The money was first appropriated under the Biden administration after Russia's 2022 invasion. It was meant to let European allies buy American equipment while handing their Soviet-era weapons stockpiles to Kyiv. The State Department says the shift reflects a pivot toward the Western Hemisphere and will help fight narco-terrorism, protect the Panama Canal and counter adversary military influence.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →