US Plans $52 Million Aid Shift to Americas

On Tuesday the State Department notified Congress it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The step followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit the week prior to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, where he pledged additional support. Foreign military financing is U.S. taxpayer money that lets partner countries buy American military equipment. The State Department said the funds will "combat narcoterrorism in our backyard and help continue to secure the Panama Canal" and that "These funds will prevent adversaries from establishing strategic footholds in our hemisphere." North Macedonia and Slovakia are NATO members. The reallocation does not eliminate financing for the four affected countries, but remaining amounts were not disclosed. What is contested: No outlet disputes the $52 million figure, the countries involved, the Tuesday notification, or the State Department wording on narcoterrorism and Panama Canal security. Unresolved: how much foreign military financing Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq will retain.