Trump's Cuts Impact Irish Aid: Guatemala Climate Crisis

Donald Trump’s cuts to US development funds in climate-struck Guatemala make aid from the island of Ireland more vital, an Irish charity has said.

Funding Challenges

The funding cuts would “skew the playing field even further” and threaten the work of local partners helping implement developmental projects, aid workers said. In 2023, the US gave more than 60 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to the Central American nation. Now, with more than 90% of USAID contracts expected to be cut, it will create further challenges in a country vulnerable to climate change’s extremes.

Martin Larrecochea's Perspective

Martin Larrecochea, Trócaire country director for Guatemala, said that this would “of course” put more pressure on the Irish charity to fill the gap. He said that Guatemala is “highly dependent” on US aid, meaning projects and programmes on disaster risk reduction and food security “are going to suffer”. Some of the local partners Trócaire works with on development initiatives have already been affected by the withdrawal of US funding and have asked them for more support.

Higher Demand Expected

“Of course there will be a higher demand,” he told the PA news agency. “The US was one of the big donors for projects in relation to disaster risk reduction and food security… so that space will be empty in some way. I think that Trócaire is one of the important players on this, and we hope to be able to continue doing this with the support of people from Ireland.”

Impact of US Funding Cut

Chris O’Connell, a policy adviser with Trócaire, said that the US funding cut would have a “huge impact” on humanitarian work in Guatemala. “Because of the generalised reduction in funding across the sector, it’s going to impact everything, it’s going to reduce everything,” he said. “All of this skews the playing field even further in favour of powerful corporations, in favour of wealthy – and often in places like Guatemala – highly corrupt elites, those are going to be the beneficiaries.”

Guatemala's Climate Challenges

Located on the eastern border of Mexico, Guatemala is suffering from longer dry seasons and heavier rains, affecting the haul of crops grown and sold. The sharp edge of extreme weather events have particularly affected the country’s indigenous population, the Mayans, who are among the country’s poorest.

Struggle for Survival

In central Guatemala, a small remote village of 24 Qʼeqchi Mayan families has had to adapt to shifting weather patterns. Called “La Paz”, meaning peace, it reflects the community’s longing for safety after the country’s violent conflict 40 years ago. They worry that stronger storms are putting their lives in danger and hotter dry seasons are pushing any opportunities further out of reach.