Agency for International Development

The Agency for International Development (USAID) is the 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. Conceived as an instrument of 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. and, in Latin America and Southeast Asia, provided equipment and instruction that extended to interrogation methods. The OPS adviser Dan Mitrione, stationed in 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 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.¹²