How US equipment ended up in the hands of Iran’s allies in Yemen as USAID was disbanded | CNN Politics

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen seized US funded supplies and equipment, including vehicles, after the Trump administration suspended and slashed humanitarian funding around the world and began dismantling the US Agency of International Development. Former US officials told the CNN the seizure of more than $122,000 worth of equipment in 2025, was a consequence of the speed of the Trump administration funding cuts and the drastic changes at USAID. According to those former officials, USAID officials and humanitarian workers had warned that those sudden changes – which the administration said were made to combat waste of taxpayer resources – could lead to US-funded goods falling into hostile hands. “You have to ask yourself – did we, by all of a sudden pulling out all of this aid, did we unwittingly help (the Houthis)?” one former government official said. The seizure was revealed by the USAID watchdog in early April. CNN spoke to several former US government officials who said the organization’s sudden dismantling created a vacuum which the US adversary was able to exploit. The US is historically the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Yemen, where millions rely on