Los fondos de USAID para Venezuela se han incrementado 26 veces en la última década, según registros oficiales
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has significantly increased the funds allocated to Venezuela between 2014 and 2024, with a special emphasis on humanitarian aid and the promotion of democracy, according to official reports published by the federal government of the United States.
USAID, whose work was halted this week by the administration of President Donald Trump, allocated $8.09 million to Venezuela in 2014, during the first year of Nicolás Maduro’s government, according to U.S. foreign assistance records.
After a gradual increase in contributions to Venezuela, USAID officially allocated around $211.02 million to the country last year, in the context of the presidential elections conceived as a solution to the political crisis in the South American nation, which Maduro officially won amid fraud allegations.
From this allocated amount, the agency that administers U.S. foreign aid programs spent around $186 million before December 19.
According to foreign assistance data, the U.S. contribution to Venezuela was solely economic and not military, unlike in other Western Hemisphere nations like Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil.
The majority of these funds in 2024, around $132.3 million, were allocated to humanitarian aid. Approximately $33.1 million was invested in a category described as «democracy, human rights, and governance,» while $14.55 million was allocated to the health sector in Venezuela, according to records.
USAID has entered into restructuring this week, at the order of President Trump, amid strong questions about the destination of its million-dollar resources.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio assumed temporary leadership of USAID and described the agency as «indifferent» to the guidelines of the U.S. Congress and Presidency.
Elon Musk, the leader of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, called USAID a «criminal organization» and deemed it «time to die.»
Between 2014 and 2024, USAID allocated $1,128.68 million for Venezuela, according to reports published in the U.S. government’s foreign assistance data.
Numerous Western governments, including the United States, have denounced the progressive deterioration of democracy and severe violations of fundamental rights against the Venezuelan population, including the commission of crimes against humanity.
### Growth Assistance
U.S. contributions to various causes in Venezuela have increased since 2018, a year in which different federal agencies, including USAID and the State Department, allocated a total of $25 million.
Previously, between 2001 and 2017, the amounts paid for Venezuela ranged from a minimum of $4.2 million in 2011 to $19 million in 2008 through various U.S. government agencies.
This aid rose to $73 million in 2019, the year the United States disregarded Maduro as the legitimate president and supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó as such.
The following year, in 2020, contributions from various U.S. federal entities essentially increased to $163.3 million. In 2021, they rose to $197.6 million, and in 2022, they increased to $209.4 million.
Maduro has criticized the sending of these resources from the United States for years, questioning their humanitarian purpose and alleging their use for political objectives. This week, he claimed that his opponents had embezzled many of these funds.
Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Venezuelan Parliament and Maduro’s delegate for political negotiations, accused USAID of collaborating with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and funding destabilization plans through NGOs.
Opponents of the Venezuelan government, such as former U.S. Ambassador Carlos Vecchio, denied these accusations, asserting they had never handled these resources.
Mark Green, the USAID administrator from 2017 to 2020, told Donald Trump in 2019 that the United States was «ready» to assist in the reconstruction of Venezuela «after the crisis caused by Maduro.»
### USAID in Latin America
Venezuela is the sixth U.S.-assisted country in 2023, with complete financial reports on foreign aid in the United States.
Colombia led the list of aid recipients with $740 million, while Curaçao received the least U.S. assistance in the region at $3,100.
On average, U.S. nations received $90 million, according to federal government reports.
In 2023, USAID allocated $205.8 million of the $208.5 million provided by the U.S. government to Venezuela. The Department of State contributed the remaining $2.75 million.
Most of the funds invested by USAID in Venezuela two years ago, approximately $147.8 million, were used for humanitarian aid. This money was channeled through partners such as the United Nations Development Fund, Pan-American, and NGOs, according to official information.
Some of the major activities funded with these resources in 2023 were the «Venezuelan activity for human rights,» with $6.6 million, and «civil society consolidation,» with $6.39 million.
Additionally, out of the $37 million allocated by USAID in that year for «governance and civil society» in Venezuela, $18 million went to «democratic and civil society,» and $7.1 million for «media and free flow of information.»
FUENTE
