Fueling Anti-NGO Campaigns in Peru 

As detailed by local project leaders and external media reports, in Peru, the chaotic withdrawal fueled a pre-existing anti-NGO movement, providing "massive fuel" to political actors seeking to dismantle civil society groups. Detractors used the withdrawal to tell the public that even the U.S. government recognized these NGOs were corrupt or working against national interests, causing segments of the general public to support the loss of USAID funding and making central government ministries increasingly reluctant to partner with civil society groups. The sudden loss of U.S. diplomatic pressure also emboldened the Peruvian government to pass restrictive legislation that empowers the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI) to reject donor-approved work plans and punish dissenting organizations. While U.S.-led pressure had previously forced the government to withdraw this controversial foreign agent law in December 2024, the USAID freeze provided the political cover to reintroduce it and pass it easily in April 2025. Because the APCI now wields immense unchecked power, local organizations are terrified to protest controversial actions, such as opening protected areas of the Peruvian Amazon — whose forests help stabilize the global climate — to extraction. The law effectively suppresses human rights and environmental defenders, leaving them to operate under the constant threat of severe political retaliation for challenging the government.