US redirects $52 million military aid from Europe, Middle East to conversative Latin American nations

The Trump administration is redirecting $52 million in US military assistance from four countries in Europe and the Middle East to governments in Central and South America, as Washington steps up its focus on the Western hemisphere.The state department notified Congress on Tuesday that foreign military financing earmarked for Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq would be redirected for Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.The move follows secretary of state Marco Rubio’s visit to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last week, where he pledged additional US support. The Trump administration has increasingly made the Western hemisphere a priority, particularly in efforts to tackle drug trafficking and illegal immigration.The decision is also the latest in a series of steps that have reduced US financial assistance or troop deployments in Europe. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato allies over defence spending and other issues.North Macedonia and Slovakia are both members of Nato.At the same time, the administration has strengthened its engagement with right-wing governments across the Americas, as Trump embraces a renewed interpretation of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine that asserts US dominance in the region.Foreign military financing allows recipient governments to use US taxpayer funds to buy military equipment from American defence contractors.The state department said the newly redirected funds would be used to “combat narcoterrorism in our backyard and help continue to secure the Panama Canal,” arguing that the Western Hemisphere has historically received less US military assistance.“These funds will prevent adversaries from establishing strategic footholds in our hemisphere,” the department said, in an apparent reference to China’s expanding presence in Latin America.While the reallocation does not end US foreign military financing for Tunisia, Iraq, North Macedonia or Slovakia, the state department did not immediately provide details on how much funding would remain available to those countries.The department said the existing allocation of military financing does “not align with the administration’s prioritization of” the Western Hemisphere.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.