US Strips Aid From Europe, Redirects to Americas

The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in US military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support governments in Central and South America, per the AP. The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the latter three nations last week and pledged additional support as the Trump administration prioritizes the Western Hemisphere in its foreign policy, with an emphasis on combating drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

It is just the latest in a series of moves that have reduced either money or troop deployments to Europe in response to President Trump's complaints about NATO allies not spending enough on their defense budgets and other matters. Both North Macedonia and Slovakia are NATO members. But it also comes as the administration has put particular attention on the Western Hemisphere, aligning deeply with right-wing governments as Trump celebrates a renewal of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine establishing Washington's dominance in the Americas.