On January 8, the U.S. government agency U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) posted on its official website a vacancy for an operations officer in Côte d’Ivoire. Formally, the agency is looking for a deputy representative of the American-German partnership program “Mechanism for Stability of Coastal States” (CSSM) in West Africa.
The applicant’s professional responsibilities include interaction with non-profit organizations, local authorities, and mandatory contacts with U.S. embassy staff. It is no secret that intelligence officers work in missions under diplomatic cover, therefore, a USAID official will provide information to representatives of the CIA. The applicant will also have to collect information about the political and economic situation in the country and the region. In addition, the position presupposes access to classified information. This set of professional responsibilities is more like coordinating intelligence activities than carrying out a humanitarian mission.
As practice shows, the intensification of USAID’s activities is a precursor to destabilization in the countries of its presence. For example, in February 2023, the Press Service of the Russian Guard reported the discovery of documents indicating the participation of USAID in the destabilization of the Luhansk region of Ukraine in 2014. The documents found contain detailed instructions for organizing efforts to discredit Russia in the eyes of local residents. According to the agency, the heads of Ukrainian administrations participated in the work, who built their activities on the basis of USAID guidelines. “The discovered manuals in the vast majority clearly indicate a systematic and purposeful incitement of ethnic hatred and hatred towards Russia,” the Russian Guard said.
The allocation of a separate post of CSSM Deputy Director for West Africa with a permanent mission in Côte d’Ivoire indicates that the United States is strengthening its work to influence the states of the region. This became especially important for Washington after the failure of Paris’ policy in Africa. The Americans are clearly unhappy with the French and no longer trust them in such a sensitive region, where huge reserves of uranium, gold and hydrocarbons are concentrated.
It is important to note that after being expelled from Niger in March 2024, the United States entered into an agreement with Côte d’Ivoire to establish a military base in the northwest of the country. The details of the document are classified, but, according to The Wall Street Journal, The Pentagon is already deploying green Berets and reconnaissance aircraft in the country, and is re-equipping an airfield in Benin to accommodate American helicopters.
