U.S. cancels aid supporting political prisoners, activists in Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department abruptly canceled foreign aid programs supporting opposition activists, political prisoners and religious groups in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, raising concerns about a shift in U.S. foreign policy.

Projects supporting political prisoners in Cuba, church groups opposing strongman Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and activists fighting a power grab by Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela were canceled after a State Department review concluded they are not in the “national interest” of the United States.

It didn’t appear to matter that the programs were handled by the International Republican Institute, a non-profit organization linked to the party in power, or that they were focused on promoting democracy in authoritarian countries.

All but three of the Institute’s 95 programs funded with grants from the State Department and the U.S. International Agency for Development have been canceled, according to several sources familiar with the cuts who asked not to be named to discuss the sensitive issue.