Trump and Musk take on USAID Seizure and strangulation

"Mask Off! There is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer!" wrote Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, on X in November 2023. His statement came in response to yet another attack by the head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, against Azerbaijan. As current events suggest, there is no place for USAID's activities even in the United States itself.

A major scandal has erupted in the U.S. around this notorious agency. On 20 January, as part of his "America First" policy, President Trump signed an executive order suspending nearly all foreign aid, leading to the immediate freezing of numerous projects worldwide and the dismissal of dozens of USAID employees.

And just this month, Trump declared that USAID is run by "radical lunatics" and proposed integrating the agency into the State Department. Meanwhile, the USAID website was taken offline, and two senior security officials were placed on unpaid leave after refusing to grant access to classified information to representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

Musk, in turn, publicly called USAID a "criminal organization" and demanded its dissolution. No sooner said than done. Just last night, Musk announced: "We are in the process of shutting down USAID." According to the businessman and politician, the agency is beyond recovery. "As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it's hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms," he added. Shortly afterward, news broke that USAID’s headquarters in Washington had been shut down by order of the U.S. administration. DOGE has taken control of all of the agency's computer systems containing confidential information.

It would be fair to assume that USAID is essentially a branch of American foreign intelligence. For years, this organization has been actively interfering in the internal affairs of various countries, implementing regime change and "color revolution" strategies under the guise of supporting civil society institutions. It is no coincidence that the agency allocated $9.5 billion for the creation of "civil society" initiatives in different countries between 2023 and 2025.

At the same time, USAID has been actively promoting the most radical liberal values, which likely prompted Trump to label its leadership as "radical lunatics."

It is also worth recalling that this agency has maintained a distinctly hostile stance toward Azerbaijan—something that was particularly evident in the actions of its most recent director, Samantha Power. As Caliber.Az reported in 2023, former "state minister" of the Karabakh junta, Ruben Vardanyan, mentioned her name among his numerous "trusted contacts" abroad during his testimony to Azerbaijani investigative authorities. The Azerbaijani side is well aware of the details of Power’s close connections with Vardanyan.

Even then, we pointed out that this was not just a corruption scandal capable of ending Mrs. Power’s career, but a case of deliberate betrayal of U.S. national interests. Notably, Power is also a member of the selection committee for the Aurora Prize, an initiative founded and sponsored by Vardanyan.

One should also remember that during her visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 2023, Power met with representatives of the Karabakh Armenians in Yerevan, yet while in Baku, she completely ignored Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons.

In January 2023, a month after Azerbaijani eco-activists began their protest on the Lachin road, Power posted a tweet that fully aligned with Armenian narratives, using terms like "blockade" and calling for the "restoration of free movement along the corridor." By August of the same year, she wrote:

"Food insecurity & shortages of medical supplies in Nagorno-Karabakh are very troubling. The Lachin corridor is critical for getting lifesaving supplies to the people of NK. I join Secretary Blinken's call for the free transit of commercial & humanitarian supplies through the corridor."

This post was remarkable not only for its biased pro-Armenian stance but also for its misleading interpretation of Blinken’s words. In his original tweet, the U.S. Secretary of State—who himself was far from fair in his approach to Azerbaijan—made no mention of any call for the "free movement of goods." Instead, he expressed concern over the "worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh" and urged the parties to "continue dialogue."

Power’s behavior was no coincidence; rather, it underscores the special status of USAID as a front for the American deep state.

In light of this, Trump and Musk’s strike against USAID can be seen as one of the first battles the new administration is waging against the deep state. It is possible that this is actually a form of reconnaissance in force, intended to stir up the deep state’s hornet’s nest and provoke a reaction that would, in turn, expose its plans and capabilities. If this is the case, the United States appears to be heading for turbulent months ahead, marked by internal elite struggles.

At the same time, Trump’s hardline stance on USAID can also be interpreted as Washington’s rejection of espionage and bribery as tools of foreign policy in favour of more overt economic and political strategies. Whether this is good or bad for the world will depend on how the policies of the 47th U.S. president unfold in practice.

In any case, Baku has always been more inclined to discuss business proposals rather than grant-based manipulations. Interestingly, in September 2024, as USAID was nearing its demise, the agency decided to allocate an additional $130 million in aid to Armenia—funds that, if not spent directly on armaments, would have at least freed up resources from the Armenian state budget for military purchases. Looks like that won’t be happening after all.