USAID cuts fuel the authoritarian crackdown in Serbia
04 March 2025
On Tuesday morning, Serbian police raided four NGO offices in Belgrade without showing warrants, seizing financial documentation under the pretext of investigating the alleged 'misuse' of USAID funds.
The investigation by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office was spurred on by suspicions expressed by president Trump, FBI director Kash Patel, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, among other US officials, about the work of USAID in Serbia and the US decision to slash 90% of its funding.
Among the targeted organisations was CRTA (Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability), Serbia's independent election-monitoring body, which has been vocal in its criticism of the government. CRTA also recently published a poll showing that 64% of the population in Serbia supports the ongoing student protests and that at least a third has participated in the demonstrations.
 | Nevena Vračar Director of CRTA, Dragan Popović, commented on the raids saying it's "a form of pressure and a senseless showing off of the authoritarian regime's muscles." The raids are perceived as a way to settle scores with critics and as the latest intimidation tactic employed by the government in its continued efforts to silence civil society. NGOs point out that the investigation is not being conducted in state institutions but only in NGOs, even though a significant portion of USAID funds went to state projects in the last 25 years. Pro-government media and officials are systematically erasing evidence of past collaboration with USAID, including removing its logo from institutional websites. At the same time, they are using the shift in U.S. foreign aid policy to fuel a narrative that civil society and the opposition are staging a "color revolution" to overthrow Vučić's government. Vučić himself has echoed former President Trump's claims that USAID funds, intended to support voter participation, have been misused to manipulate elections and topple governments abroad. |
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