---
aliases:
- USAID
- AID
- U.S. Agency for International Development
category: U.S. Government
created: 2026-06-13
location: Washington, D.C.
start: 1961
summary: The U.S. Agency for International Development is the federal foreign-aid
  agency established in 1961 whose Office of Public Safety provided police training
  in Latin America and Southeast Asia that served as cover for CIA operations and
  counterinsurgency interrogation programs.
tags:
- Organization
- USGovernment
- ColdWar
- LatinAmerica
title: Agency for International Development
updated: 2026-06-13
---

The Agency for International Development (USAID) is the [United States](/places/united-states/) government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance, created in 1961 under the Foreign Assistance Act signed by President [John F. Kennedy](/people/john-f-kennedy/). Conceived as an instrument of [Cold War](/concepts/cold-war/) development policy, it operated alongside and at times as cover for U.S. intelligence and counterinsurgency activity.[^1]

### Office of Public Safety

From 1962 to 1974 USAID housed the Office of Public Safety (OPS), which trained foreign police forces in more than fifty countries. OPS ran the International Police Academy in [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) and, in Latin America and Southeast Asia, provided equipment and instruction that extended to interrogation methods. The OPS adviser Dan Mitrione, stationed in [Uruguay](/places/uruguay/), became notorious for allegations that he taught torture techniques before his 1970 kidnapping and killing by the Tupamaros. Congress abolished OPS in 1974 after these abuses drew scrutiny.[^2]

### Intelligence Cover

USAID missions repeatedly provided official cover for [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) officers, and OPS police-training programs gave the agency access to foreign internal-security services. The pattern paralleled the use of academic and development institutions documented in programs such as [Project Camelot](/programs/project-camelot/).[^1][^2]

[^1]: Records of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Record Group 286, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
[^2]: Langguth, A.J. *Hidden Terrors: The Truth About U.S. Police Operations in Latin America*. Pantheon, 1978.