During his first term, Donald Trump had already shocked with his derogatory remarks about African nations, notably when he referred to them as “shithole countries” during an immigration meeting in 2018. This rhetoric was accompanied by a foreign policy marked by disengagement and a preference for bilateral relations centered on American economic interests, to the detriment of development aid and democratic support traditionally associated with American diplomacy in Africa.
The Trump administration is currently studying a plan to eliminate ten embassies and seventeen consulates worldwide, while reducing or merging staff at several other diplomatic missions. According to an undated internal State Department document revealed by The New York Times, this restructuring would significantly diminish American diplomatic presence on almost all continents, with particularly severe repercussions for Africa.
Africa at the Center of Budget Cuts
The African continent would bear the heaviest burden with six embassies threatened with closure: those in South Sudan, Gambia, Eritrea, Republic of Congo, Lesotho, and Central African Republic. The memorandum suggests transferring their responsibilities to American representations in neighboring countries. African consulates are also among the targets, notably in Durban (South Africa) and Douala (Cameroon), further aggravating the impact on a region already weakened by Trump’s protectionist approach.
Diplomatic Risks and Strategic Issues
Experts warn that this downsizing could weaken American national security by reducing diplomatic engagement capacity and compromising essential intelligence gathering. This initiative, which aligns with the president’s desire to cut federal spending, still requires congressional approval and could be modified. Many observers worry that these closures would give China the opportunity to strengthen its influence in areas where the United States currently maintains a more significant diplomatic presence than Beijing.
The plan also includes closures in Europe (embassies in Malta and Luxembourg), Asia (Maldives) and the Caribbean (Grenada), as well as numerous consulates, including five in France (Strasbourg, Marseille, Lyon, Rennes and Bordeaux), two in Germany (Leipzig and Düsseldorf), and others in the United Kingdom (Edinburgh), Italy (Florence), Greece (Thessaloniki), Portugal (Ponta Delgada) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Banja Luka and Mostar), not to mention Busan in South Korea and Medan in Indonesia.
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