The “America First” policies of US President Donald Trump are starting to take effect. The training for the TTDF in Civil-Military Coordination in Disaster Relief, which was scheduled to begin on January 25, 2025, has been canceled, according to sources who recently confirmed this. TTDF has benefited from training programs with the US military.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency was to oversee the training. The revocation comes after Trump issued an Executive Order that suspended all foreign aid, including grant-aided assistance programs, nearly completely.
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According to sources, the T&T Police Service has also received aid under this initiative, but the Defense Force in Trinidad and Tobago has benefited the most throughout the years.
The International Military Education and Training (IMET) courses offered by the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force will be impacted, as the TTDF was informed in correspondence. It claimed that the Executive Order, which froze financing for 90 days, was the reason for the IMET program cancellations. A “revaluation and realignment” of US foreign aid was required by this executive order. This is the first local aid initiative that Trump’s actions have impacted on Trinidad & Tobago.
The US Security Assistance Program, authorized by the US Foreign Assistance Act, offers training to a limited number of foreign military and defense-related civil personnel on a grant basis, in accordance with its website. The training is conducted at US military installations, with US Armed Forces in the United States and abroad, and using Mobile Training Teams.
According to Trump’s newly released Executive Order, “The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases [are] antithetical to American values….All department and agency heads with responsibility for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors, pending reviews of such programs for programmatic efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy”.
Trump’s proposal will have an impact on all nations that have received grants from the US. In addition, he has pledged to withdraw America from the legally binding international climate change agreement known as the 2025 Paris Agreement and withdrew America from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The main idea behind the “America First” strategy is that the United States’ foreign policy should always prioritize its citizens and essential American interests. It implies that American national interests and domestic policies take precedence over international events and commitments.
