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The US Department of State has officially taken control of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has temporarily become its head. He said this during a press conference in San Jose, which was held jointly with the President of Costa Rica, Ukrinform reports.
Rubio stressed that US international assistance will no longer be “free charity” and will only be provided if it is in the US interest. He explained that the decision to cut programmes and review spending was made to stop funding ineffective initiatives.
“We’re not giving up on international assistance. But from now on, it must make sense,” the US Secretary of State said. At the same time, he clarified that programmes aimed at saving lives, supplying food or medicines will remain in place if their implementation is deemed urgent.
President Donald Trump’s administration has published a report on financial mismanagement at USAID. Elon Musk, who actively supports Trump’s policies, sharply criticised the agency, calling it a “criminal organisation” and announcing his intention to have it liquidated. Shortly afterwards, the official USAID website was shut down, the agency’s page on social network X was blocked, and its headquarters in Washington, DC, was closed.
