After USAID’s Sudden Exit, Cuso International Remains Committed to Venezuelan Refugees

Like many organizations impacted by USAID’s funding halt, Cuso International has faced challenging months in its Latin American programs, particularly in Colombia.

The biggest hit came earlier this year. That’s when a large program in Colombia that was funded by USAID through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had 80% of its funding cut.

“It was so sudden,” says Aymeric Astre, who directs Cuso International’s projects in the region. “It was just shut down.”

Overnight, Astre found himself needing to put an end to a program that benefitted about 1,000 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia.

Through this program, funded at approximately $500,000 USD per month, Venezuelan refugees received critical job training, livelihood support, and community integration assistance—essential resources that helped them rebuild their lives in Colombia.

At the same time, the program supported efforts to promote good relations between the newcomers and Colombians—to show how the migrants can benefit Colombian society and the economy.

“A lot of time and energy went into the shutdown,” Astre says, noting they had to lay off 12 members of Cuso’s local team.

While it was hard to see the program end, Astre is proud of how the organization worked to help staff who lost their jobs.

“Cuso stood up for what was right to help the affected staff,” he said, noting they made sure to provide a fair severance and program closure. “We prioritized looking after them, treating them fairly and decently, doing right by them.”

What makes the end to USAID funding puzzling is that, while the immediate benefits of the program were felt in Colombia, there were also benefits for Americans, Astre says.

“If people from Venezuela in Colombia don’t feel it is necessary to make the dangerous trek to the U.S., that is good for them and for America,” he says, noting that about 2.5 million Venezuelans have fled to Colombia since 2015 due to the political and economic crisis started in their home country.

By helping them begin new lives in Colombia, support from the U.S. was “basically preventing onward migration to America,” Astre says. “It was a smart policy.”

Now that USAID funding is gone, Astre’s main message to Canadians is to continue to support Cuso International’s efforts in the region. “Our programs make a huge difference in peoples’ lives,” he says.

At the same time, Canadians who support Cuso International should talk to their elected officials about the importance of foreign aid and Canada’s important role in the world.

“Tell them not to follow the lead of the U.S. when it comes to foreign aid,” he said.

Even though times “are scary and frustrating now,” support from Canada is “making a difference,” he says.