Aligning with kleptocrats on the international stage
ACTION 115 | Siding with Russia against Ukraine
While President Trump’s hostile treatment of Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28, 2025 made headlines as a shocking departure from diplomatic protocol, it was just one incident in a series of events signaling the administration’s preference for Putin over Ukraine. Trump had previously blamed Ukraine for starting the war and called Zelensky a dictator, yet he had refrained from using that term to describe Putin, the leader who rigs elections and whose opponents end up exiled, imprisoned or dead. The administration’s affinity with Autocracy, Inc. was further underscored a few days before, on February 24, when the US opposed a European-drafted resolution supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and condemning Russia’s actions. In its opposition, the US joined just 17 other countries, including Russia, North Korea, Sudan, Hungary, and Belarus. After the explosive Oval Office meeting, the Trump administration held meetings with the Russian government, sidelining both the EU and Ukraine and ruling out Ukraine’s membership in NATO. On April 23, 2025, President Trump presented a plan that was widely seen as favoring Putin's interests, conceding Russia virtually all of the territory that it had gained during its invasion and guaranteeing that Ukraine would never join NATO. The perception of US favoritism for Moscow also extends to global trade. On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced a universal baseline tariff of 10% that hit Ukraine, but excluded Russia, despite a US trade goods deficit with Russia of $2.5 billion. Combined with the rifts within NATO, the drastic rollback in democracy assistance, the shuttering of Voice of America, and the termination of the task force charged with seizing Russian kleptocratic assets, these decisions are seen as part of a long list of measures that "suit Moscow’s interests...so much so that Russian officials in Moscow have cheered the American president on and publicly celebrated some of his moves."
ACTION 116 | Granting golden visas to autocrats
The affinity for Putin and his oligarchic allies was further underscored by another Trump proposal: the establishment of a new visa program that would lead to permanent residency for a fee of $5 million. While a number of EU countries have had similar programs, they have begun to pull back given reports that these “golden visas” could contribute to money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption. In response to a question from the press on whether Russian oligarchs can apply for these visas, Trump responded “it’s possible” and “I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”
ACTION 117 | A show of support for Serbian President Vucic
Since coming to power in 2017, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has not only shown allegiance to Putin, but has also replicated aspects of his playbook, such as putting pressure on civil society, opposition parties, and the media. On November 15, 2024, a concrete canopy at a railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. Reporting linked the tragedy to shoddy contract work tied to corrupt deals. While protests in Serbia have been common in recent years, the Novi Sad incident has spurred an unprecedented level of mass mobilization, which may force Vucic to either form a new government or hold new parliamentary elections. On February 25, 2025, Serbian authorities raided, without warrants, the offices of four civil society organizations involved in good governance and legal aid activities. In seeking to justify these raids, the government referred to the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID. Against this backdrop of civic unrest, on March 11, 2025, Donald Trump Jr. traveled to Belgrade and met with Vucic to discuss US foreign aid to Serbia; allies of Vucic touted this visit as a public show of support from the US. This visit was further perceived as mixing business with politics, given the $500 million deal that Jared Kushner's Affinity Global Development is planning for the construction of a Trump International Hotel in Belgrade.
ACTION 118 | Deportation coordination with Salvadoran President Bukele
President Nayib Bukele has ruled El Salvador under emergency powers that have suspended key civil liberties, including due process, since 2022. Bukele’s principal crime reduction strategy has been mass incarceration—the highest level in the world. President Trump has praised Bukele as an "example" for other nations in the Western Hemisphere. On March 15, 2025, despite a judge’s order temporarily blocking the move, the Trump administration deported 238 Venezuelan migrants accused of gang membership to El Salvador, to be held for a one year, renewable term in the country's mega-prison, which is notorious for its conditions of overcrowding, lack of medical attention, and inadequate food and sanitation. The Trump administration has ignored multiple judicial rulings related to these deportations, including the April 10 Supreme Court decision that called on the government to facilitate the the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador due to an administrative mistake. Following this decision, Bukele visited the White House on April 14, 2025, making him the first Latin American leader to do so during Trump's second term. In response to a question from the press in an Oval Office press conference, Bukele claimed that returning Kilmar would be "preposterous."