Reponse to Venezuelas crisis proves that America can still help in substantial ways even without USAID

Critics of President Trump insist that his administration has bungled its response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.They blame his dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.

But those critics are wrong.  USAID led America’s humanitarian disaster response for years.But after the Biden administration turned agency irreparably woke, Trump handed most of those responsibilities to the State Department.

The reaction was predictably strident.“The evisceration of USAID,” said one critic, “…will hamper the capacity of international relief agencies.” Another claimed that the nation had “lost the capability to deploy search and rescue.” As the former head of USAID and the federal lead for global disaster response, I oversaw aid for earthquakes, hurricanes, Ebola outbreaks, the Beirut port explosion and massive war-related migrations.

I know what competent emergency response looks like.It looks like what the United States is doing in Venezuela. The essential elements for successful emergency responses remain intact: first responders, known as Disaster Assistance Response Teams DARTs, regional support hubs, nearby warehousing storing large-scale food and nonfood aid, search-and-rescue tools, and most importantly, a hand-in-glove relationship with the US Department of Defense that provides our civilian response with military aircraft, communications, logistics support and critical armed security.

All are in place and were smoothly deployed within hours of the devastating earthquakes.A robust 300-person team arrived almost immediately in Venezuela, along with a commitment of $300 million in aid.That sum is huge.

It’s in line with President Trump’s “full commitment to being supportive of Venezuela.” As the Department of State tweeted: “The United States’ response … is big, fast, effective, and ongoing.Most impressive is how President Trump is using foreign aid as an effective tool of national security.Whereas the B...