Two Florida lawmakers protested USAID’s plans to cut its budget for democracy programs in Cuba from $20 million to $15 million. Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday called it “a terrible precedent, a terrible idea” and urged the agency to reconsider. The planned reduction is “way out of proportion…for a program of this small scale,” Rubio told [...]
February roundup
Incoming Secretary of State John Kerry vowed earlier this month to boost U.S. engagement abroad as a way to “prevent conflict and prevent failed states.” In a Feb. 15 speech to employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, he said: This challenge deserves more focus and more attention, not less. This is not a [...]
January roundup
Development Alternatives Inc. warned this month that a Maryland worker’s lawsuit against the private contractor and the U.S. government “could create significant risks to the U.S. government’s national security, foreign policy, and human rights interests.” Alan Gross and his family sued DAI and the federal government for $60 million in November 2012, alleging that they [...]
July roundup
Cuba’s highest court on July 22 heard the appeal of Alan Gross, the U.S. government subcontractor convicted of violating Cuban law while carrying out a USAID democracy project on the island. Gross “reiterated that he never had any intention of hurting the Cuban government or its people, and that he has always believed — and [...]
June roundup
As $20 million in democracy funds for Cuba remained hung up in Congress, the State Department responded to Sen. John Kerry’s questions and concerns about the programs. According to an internal memo that the Cuba Money Project made public on June 3, the State Department told Kerry: … we designed these new programs to strengthen [...]
Summary of State Dept-John Kerry Q&A
Below is a summary of the State Department’s response to Sen. John Kerry’s questions about democracy programs in Cuba, along with a few comments. Download the three-page summary or read entire memo here. 1) Question: Name the contractors and sub-contractors who carry out Cuba-related democracy work. Describe how they are achieving their goals. Answer: The [...]