Support from the United States for religious institutions in Latin America is essential to defeating repressive regimes, acting USAID Administrator John Barsa said during a Thursday roundtable on the Trump administration’s international religious freedom goals.
USAID, a federal entity tasked with allotting foreign aid to developing countries, is focused particularly on “defeating the tyranny that exists” in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, Barsa said. Since Trump in June signed an executive order making religious freedom an official part of U.S. foreign policy, Barsa added, the agency has been providing significant aid to Catholic and Protestant churches in these three countries.
Barsa said that the aid is part of USAID’s overarching mission of “fostering inclusive societies” in which governments embrace pluralism and the freedom of expression. Because faith communities are a “connector of people and an engine for change,” he said, the Trump administration considers them important in its goals of ensuring international freedom.
“Too many people live in countries where freedom of conscience is threatened, restricted, or flat-out denied,” he said. “When governments suppress freedom of religion, they prevent entire segments of society from making meaningful contributions to their country’s political, social, and economic development.”
Since 2019, the Trump administration has put significant pressure on Latin America and on the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in December added and Cuba and Nicaragua to a watch list for their “severe violations of religious freedom.” In March, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which studies the issue for the State Department, recommended that Pompeo slap sanctions on Cuba for its increased restrictions on the practice of religion.
Barsa, who is the son of Cuban refugees, confirmed the pattern of abuse in Cuba, saying that, even since these U.S actions, the Cuban government has continued to crack down on the practice of faith by restricting the construction of churches and making it illegal to hold services in buildings not registered with the government’s Office of Religious Affairs.
“Even as Cubans are suffering from COVID-19, the regime is relentless in its persecution of religious freedom,” Barsa said.
Barsa described a similar situation in Nicaragua and Venezuela, where authorities impose restrictions of the practice of faith. In July, a fire damaged the Catholic Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, in what police determined was an accident. Managua Archbishop Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes disagreed, denouncing the fire as a “savage and terrorist” attack.
Barsa said that in the view of the U.S., the fire and other attacks on churches in the country were clearly orchestrated by “thugs” backed by President Daniel Ortega.
“Why are these attacks happening?” Barsa said. “It’s because the church in Nicaragua is bold enough to speak out against the rampant human rights abuses and violations of basic freedoms.”
Citing churches in Latin America as “the glue” that keeps freedom in repressed societies intact, Barsa said that churches are an important tool for exposing human rights abuses to the rest of the world.
“These attacks on religion are pure violations of human rights, plain and simple,” he said. “Every man and woman should be allowed to practice their God-given right to freedom of conscience.”
