There is a long-standing history of ties between USAID and the CIA. During the Cold War, they worked together in training police forces all across the world, notably in Latin America, where the exercises allegedly included techniques of torture. USAID also served as cover for various covert activities, especially during the Vietnam War. After the Cold War, according to Weiner, the agency funded democracy-building programs in the former Soviet Union, “sometimes on its own, sometimes in concert with the CIA.” As recently as 10 years ago, it used its pro-democracy rubric to help foment anti-regime propaganda in Cuba.

  Throughout this period, as was the case with U.S. embassies generally, USAID was used as a front for CIA officers, though, Weiner says, “much less frequently now than in the old days.” [0]