That was a hoot.

They claimed USAID built schools, delivered food, and helped poor countries to develop. That was their sales pitch…

It was a lie.

Because as it turns out, much of that money was flowing into a massive web of NGOs, activist groups, media projects, "civil society" organizations, and democracy programs that helped shape political life in other countries.

Then President Trump pulled the plug, and something interesting happened. More on that shortly.

It was back on January 20, 2025, when President Trump froze new foreign-aid obligations and disbursements while his team reviewed where the money was going. Within weeks, USAID's website was taken down, its Washington headquarters was closed, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the acting administrator. By March, the administration said it had canceled about 83 percent of the agency's programs.

And that brings us to the interesting stuff that started happening.

Suddenly, Latin America began moving sharply to the right.

One conservative or right-leaning candidate after another started winning elections, shocking political observers and crushing the left's stranglehold. Now we can't definitively prove that USAID's collapse caused those results, but the timing is very curious indeed.

For decades, USAID money created the kind of political infrastructure that shapes a country's culture, messaging, activism, media, and voter education. Then when that money was suddenly cut off, the political map began changing real fast.

Maybe it is coincidence… sure.

Or maybe the left's political ecosystem isn't strong or popular when American taxpayers are no longer bankrolling it.