Corruption hunters say Trump’s USAID cuts just made organized crime groups “much more dangerous”

While most of the repercussions of destruction Usaid They will feel that they are abroad, the previously funded journalists say the discounts will allow organized crime and corruption abroad, which ultimately affects the ordinary Americans.

The project to report organized crime and corruption is among the largest international investigative press clothes, and even a few weeks ago, the project received great funding from the United States Agency for International Development. The group’s reports participated in some of the largest international corruption stories in modern memory, including Panama papersthe Paradise leaves and Russian washbasin.

Drew Sullivan, an investigation correspondent and an OCCRP founder, told the salon that the organization had received about 38 % of its operational budget from the United States government, which comes through agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development, the National Democracy Standing and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since the cuts fell, Sullivan said that the organization had to lay off about 40 % of its employees.

This has affected reporting projects that cover topics from Tren De Aragua in El Salvador to Ndrangheta in Italy to purchase money laundering operations in the purchase of real estate in the United States. Sullivan said, even from the point of view of efficiency accurately, the discounts are meaningless, because Occrp investigations and investigations by partner organizations have helped to return money to Americans more than their costs to keep these clothes open.

“We have achieved a tremendous return for American taxpayers. More than 3 billion dollars have been returned to the US treasures in the United States,” Sullivan said. “Every dollar in OCCRP has returned $ 100 to the US Treasury or other government agencies.”

This, says Sullivan, in addition to the fact that the financing of journalists leaves many of them vulnerable to arrest or at risk of removing them from the country where they work, where many require work visas.

Pavla Holkova, a regional editor of OCCRP in central Europe, has worked on investigations on topics such as Pegasus project and Follow Russian origins.

“It is a kind of consideration of looking at the fact that the United States will provide money by reducing this budget, because, as journalists, we get this type of grant, we just maintain the work environment more transparent and much more responsible than it will be otherwise,” Holkova told the Holkova newspaper.

OCRP one investigationFor example, it revealed how real estate in American cities such as New York and Miami has become the best destinations for those who seek to invest the money washed. The demand for these investment properties has increased to a level that appears to be the developers of millions in the New York City politicians, as it appears to be a Successful effort To secure millions of dollars from the tax exemptions for developers, building luxury properties.

In her opinion, Holkova said that the discounts made by President Donald Trump and the Republicans are short -sighted and that corruption cases and organized crime are likely to become “more dangerous” if the reporting teams are dismantled.

Attila Peru, another journalist associated with OCCRP, reports of crime and corruption from Romania. He led his work in Romania to cover Credit scorch in Latin America. In the process, it was claimed that an international gang operating in Romania and Mexico stolen credit card information about tourists by tampering with ATMs. The scheme brought about $ 1.2 billion, which was transferred to real estate Investments In the United States and Brazil.

“If you are a tourist and you are going to Cancun, and you are using your credit card there, there were great and large opportunities to steal your data by the organized crime group that we have achieved. We have revealed it. We have shown the authorities how to act, and Beru Peron“ Peron ”. That are stolen, as you know, Democrats and Republicans are at the same rate. ”

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Peru said that funding through OCCRP and the United States government had enabled investigation and training journalists to carry out these types of investigations. He said without this funding, his organization takes things “month after a month.”

As is the case, Occrp is one of the organizations that filed a lawsuit against the federal government in an attempt to restore the financing that it was supposed to receive, as allocated by Congress, and joined the alliance of AIDS vaccines in the case.

While the federal judge heard the case agreed and ordered funding that was restored, the White House responded by claiming that, despite the court’s order, the administration still retains authority To freeze funds and finish grants.