Trump To End All Aid To Somalia After Food Supplies Destroyed By Govt.

The Trump administration will permanently cut off U.S. foreign assistance to Somalia after the country’s government destroyed a warehouse containing 76 metric tons of American-donated food, a senior administration official told The Daily Wire.

A diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Somalia, dated January 6, detailed how Somali authorities demolished the World Food Programme Emergency Response Warehouse at the Port of Mogadishu on January 3. According to the cable, the demolition was ordered by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and carried out by the Federal Government of Somalia without notifying or coordinating with international donors, including the United States.

The embassy warned that the action likely resulted in the destruction of emergency food supplies and was carried out despite objections from the World Food Programme. U.S. officials cited corruption as the apparent motive behind the move.

The Port of Mogadishu is operated by a Turkish company seeking to expand its footprint, and the cable described Somalia’s Minister of Ports as effectively acting as Turkey’s primary agent inside the country. Turkey has steadily increased its influence across key Somali industries in recent years, often through contracts structured to benefit Turkish interests, the embassy noted.

At the time of the demolition, an additional 1,650 metric tons of food commodities were scheduled to arrive in early January. Those shipments had to be diverted to alternative storage locations to prevent further losses.

The World Food Programme, the United Nations agency responsible for food distribution, said it would formally notify Somali authorities that the demolition constituted a violation of UN diplomatic protocols. The U.S. Embassy urged the Secretary of State to pause, cancel, or delay American assistance until Somalia returned or compensated donors for the destroyed aid.

On January 7, the State Department announced it had paused all U.S. assistance programs benefiting the Somali Federal Government, stating that any future aid would depend on Somali authorities taking responsibility for their actions. The senior administration official later confirmed that the pause will become permanent, with all U.S. aid to Somalia officially ending by May.

Somalia’s ports minister had issued an eviction notice to the World Food Programme in December, though Somali officials later claimed the warehouse could continue operating while a final decision was pending. After the demolition, the port manager asserted that the food had been transferred into containers and remained accessible.

The World Food Programme disputed that account, stating the food likely spoiled because it required specialized storage conditions that were no longer available.

The destroyed supplies were donated by American taxpayers through the Title II Food for Peace program and International Disaster Assistance, with distribution overseen by the World Food Programme.

The incident has reignited longstanding concerns about corruption within Somalia’s humanitarian aid system. Somali parliament member Abdillahi Hashi Abib, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, previously warned U.S. officials that roughly 90 percent of Somalia’s humanitarian assistance comes from the United States and that the Somali Disaster Management Agency has systematically defrauded donors.

Abib alleged that aid funds have been captured and monetized by a single family network and its clan affiliates. He claimed that three brothers of the agency’s chairman each receive $15,000 monthly salaries through payments made to their wives, while key departments within the agency are allegedly run by the chairman’s uncles.

According to Abib, food donations from the United States, European Union, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and China are routinely sold in Mogadishu markets after staged photo opportunities. He alleged that starving civilians are paid small sums to pose for photographs with aid before it is confiscated and resold.

By diverting food intended for between 8,000 and 12,000 families, Abib said the network generates approximately $500,000 per month. He also accused officials of widespread cost inflation, citing cases in which ambulances and fire trucks costing $100,000 were billed to donors at $300,000.

The decision to permanently end U.S. assistance marks one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive steps yet to halt foreign aid it deems corrupt, misused, or hostile to American interests.