U.S. Government Democracy Projects in Cuba: Following the Money

Abstract: Democracy promotion efforts targeting Cuba intensified under the Trump administration, but publicly available spending records do not show any evidence directly linking U.S. projects to the July 11 protests in Cuba. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department have been helping to finance Cuba’s internal opposition for decades. The agencies and their partners often target marginalized populations. Secrecy surrounding their work makes it difficult to know what they do in Cuba and whether they are effective. Funding specifically aimed at increasing human rights in Cuba rose during the Trump administration, hitting a high of $6.7 million in 2020, the single highest yearly total recorded over the past two decades, according to an analysis of more than $218 million in State Department and USAID disbursements. The dollar amount spent for projects that are undisclosed or whose descriptions are reacted also rose, increasing by 74% under Trump, when compared to the Obama administration.

Tomado de Latin America and Latino Studies, American University Washington DC

Source: https://www.american.edu/centers/latin-american-latino-studies/cuba-after-the-july-11-protests-eaton.cfm