US Interference: When a ‘Black Hand’ Wears a ‘White Glove’

During a routine press conference held on Aug. 19 (local time), Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador mentioned a letter he had written to U.S. President Joe Biden a few days earlier. In the letter, López Obrador again condemned Washington’s longstanding practice of funding certain Mexican anti-government civil organizations, calling it a blatant interference in Mexico’s internal affairs.

López Obrador gave as an example the $5.9 million in funding that the United States Agency for International Development provided to a Mexican nongovernmental organization between 2018 and 2023. He urged the Biden administration to change its “clear interventionist attitude” and stop fanning the flames behind civil groups in Mexico and undermining the nation’s stability.

He is not the only one. During an interview on Aug. 19, Denis Moncada, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Central America’s Nicaragua also publicly condemned U.S. interference in the internal affairs of sovereign countries that disagree with Washington’s views. Moncada criticized the U.S. for using the National Endowment for Democracy, which he called a “tool of aggression.” He emphasized that the U.S. refuses to accept the decline of its unipolar dominance and insists on using disruptive measures to try to destroy nations and governments that do not align with its policies, and that Nicaragua firmly resists such interventionist behavior.

It is no coincidence that two Latin American countries have simultaneously accused the United States of “interfering in internal affairs.” In its more than 200 years of history, as well as waging wars directly against other countries, the U.S. has a dark record of engaging in political coercion and infiltration. Like its military, almost all U.S. governmental or nongovernmental agencies involved in foreign affairs have functioned as effective tools in the attempt to destabilize other countries.

Is Foreign Aid Also a ‘Political Weapon’ of the United States?

The first thing to say is that the Mexican president mentioned USAID. While it is ostensibly a nonmilitary aid organization, in fact it is far from as simple as that. The U.S. has long prided itself on being the world’s largest provider of foreign aid. As early as 1949, then-President Harry Truman put forward the Point Four Program to provide economic and technical assistance to underdeveloped regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, looking back at the history of the past 70 years shows that “U.S.-style aid” had selfish motives from the start, with a primary aim of maximizing U.S. interests, and has completely ignored the real interests and practical needs of developing countries.

As U.S. political scientist Hans Morgenthau wrote, “Foreign aid is no different from diplomatic or military policy or propaganda. They are all weapons in the political armory of the nation.” This kind of aid, built on “U.S. standards,” often comes with harsh conditions that undermine the sovereignty and dignity of recipient nations. Using a carrot-and-stick approach, the U.S. imposes its values and pushes other countries toward “democratic transformation.”

Latin America, considered the backyard of the United States, has the most direct experience of nonmilitary aid administered by USAID. During the Trump administration the U.S. repeatedly suspended or reviewed aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and other countries as a form of political threat.

In his book “The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith,” Gilbert Rist, honorary professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, made a shrewd assessment of U.S.-style aid: Truman’s Point Four Program legitimized U.S. hegemony and was essentially a new form of imperialism.

Today, the U.S. openly admits that its aid is driven by self-interest, even publicly proposing a strategy to maintain its dominance through aid. In the past three years, the U.S. federal budget for foreign aid has increased annually. For the first time in history, the administrator of USAID was appointed as a permanent member of the National Security Council, highlighting the critical role that foreign aid plays in advancing the U.S. hegemony strategy. The U.S. Department of State and USAID’s Joint Strategic Plan Framework for Fiscal Years 2022-2026 outlined five strategic goals, including restoring U.S. leadership, protecting national and economic security and strengthening U.S.-style democratic structures and human rights concepts, all of which reflect that the primary goal of U.S. aid is to serve U.S. interests.

The Economist, a British magazine, once pointed out that “there was never any pretence of altruism” with USAID’s foreign aid. A former USAID official, Maura O’Neill, put it more bluntly: USAID’s goal is to “catalyse more South Koreas and less North Koreas.”

Toppling Foreign Governments Is the Only Way for the United States To Survive

If the official agency USAID acts as a “white glove” for the U.S. to carry out political coercion against other countries, then nongovernmental organization NED is the white glove instigating “color” revolutions for the U.S. in other countries. Founded in 1983, NED is essentially the CIA rebranded, specifically used to carry out those dirty jobs that the U.S. government wants to keep at arm’s length. For this reason the NED has long been known internationally as the second CIA.

NED founder Allen Weinstein openly admitted in an interview with The Washington Post years ago that “a lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” The NED is nominally a nongovernmental organization but it is largely funded by the U.S. government and congressional appropriations. The data show that the U.S. allocated $315 million in funding to the NED for the 2023 fiscal year, its operations are guided by the U.S. Department of State and overseas embassies, it reports its work to the U.S. government and is subject to its auditing and oversight.

For over 40 years the NED has left a trail of destructive behavior around the world. From Central Asia to Latin America, from North Africa to Eastern Europe, it has funded separatist movements, interfered in the political agendas of other countries, spread false information and conducted ideological infiltration. The ongoing crisis in Ukraine is a vivid example of the NED’s harmful influence. During the 2004 Orange Revolution, the NED provided $65 million to Ukrainian opposition groups. During the 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests, the NED funded related organizations to stir up street activism in Ukraine. Over the years, the NED has poured tens of millions of dollars into using social media to spread disinformation, exacerbating ethnic tensions and fostering division in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

As the Tehran Times has noted, overthrowing other governments is the only way the United States can survive by maintaining an “empire that conquers and divides.” But in the process, there is also growing evidence that the empire is facing difficulties and is in decline.