Trump wants to close Usaid for corruption, but records show that the agency has funded Musk Starlink, one of its nearest allies, with millions of dollars
Donald Trump has criticized USAID as a corrupt agency whose “fraudulently” distributed funds are “totally inexplicable”. However, it was not clear on Friday if this statement included Starlink-the international internet project founded by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s nearest advisers-who received USAID $ 1 million.
“Usaid is making the left radical crazy, and they can do nothing about it because the way money has been spent, both of it fraudulently, is totally inexplicable,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning. “Corruption is at levels rarely seen before. Close the agency! ”
Over the past four years, USAID has spent $ 1 million on Spacex Starlink terminals, according to federal contract records obtained by Forbes . This money helped take Starlink to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where Musk was born.
Musk also assumed exclusive credit for another partnership between USAID and Starlink, which saw the company send about 5,000 Starlink terminals, “worth about $ 3 million,” according to the Forbes to help the Ukrainian army in his war against Russia.
“An important factor for Ukraine not being dominated by Russia is the support of Starlink that I provided, with a high risk of Spacex cyber attacks by Russian military forces,” musk tweeted in November. “Starlink is the backbone of Ukrainian military communications on the front lines, because everything else has been destroyed or blocked by Russia.”
In early 2024, USAID announced an “inspection” about the use of these terminals through Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Musk has made a personal mission to dismantle USAID, an agency that provides humanitarian assistance and financing for infrastructure and development technology in developing nations. In a series of recent tweets, Musk criticized USAID – which distributed more than $ 40 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress in 2023 and closed $ 86 billion in the private sector – such as a “criminal organization” which is a one “Radical Left Globalists Arm”.
Andrew Natsios, a former USAID chief under President George W. Bush and a longtime conservative, told the Politico On Tuesday, Musk’s criticism of the agency was a “blatant lie” and that Trump’s idea of incorporating USAID priorities into the state department was the “worst idea he could imagine.”
USAID’s mission is, according to Natsios, in the “national interest”. Data aggregate assistance missions around the world inform US policy on issues ranging from public health to diplomacy. For example, news on Monday about an Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda, were reported through a USAID mission. Choosing extinguishing the US would force the US to enter an age of darkness, which could leave the country off guard in future health crises.
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/02/12/starlink-de-musk-recebeu-milhoes-da-usaid-que-trump-quer-extinguir/
