By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America.<\/p>\n
The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u00a0visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last week<\/a>\u00a0and pledged to them additional support as the Trump administration has prioritized the Western Hemisphere in its foreign policy with an emphasis on\u00a0combating drug trafficking<\/a>\u00a0and illegal immigration.<\/p>\n It is just the latest in a series of moves that have reduced either money or troop deployments to Europe in response to President Donald Trump\u2019s complaints about NATO allies not spending enough on their defense budgets and other matters. Both North Macedonia and Slovakia are NATO members.<\/p>\n But it also comes as the administration has put particular attention on the Western Hemisphere, aligning deeply with right-wing governments as Trump celebrates a renewal of the 19th century Monroe Doctrine establishing Washington\u2019s dominance in the Americas.<\/p>\n Foreign military financing provides recipient countries with U.S. taxpayer dollars to allow them to purchase military equipment from American defense contractors.<\/p>\n The State Department said the funds would be used to \u201ccombat narcoterrorism in our backyard and help continue to secure the Panama Canal,\u201d adding that the Western Hemisphere has been historically neglected in U.S. military assistance.<\/p>\n