Freedom of the press, a cornerstone of American democracy, is under threat. With a single executive order signed last Friday, President Donald Trump began the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), effectively shutting down historic broadcasters like Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio and TV Martí.

The administration frames the decision as a budgetary measure. But media advocates, former employees, and international observers interpret it as something much deeper — an unprecedented offensive against U.S. government-funded journalism, which for decades has promoted democratic values and provided factual news in places plagued by censorship and authoritarianism.

Voice of America was created in 1942, in the middle of World War II, to combat Nazi propaganda. Over the years, it has become a symbol of U.S. public diplomacy, offering reliable and balanced news in more than 40 languages. According to AFP, in fiscal year 2023, USAGM employed 3,384 people and had requested $950 million in operational funding for 2024.

Radio Martí was launched in 1983 during the Reagan administration to broadcast uncensored news to Cuba. Despite years of controversy over political bias and management issues, it remained one of the few external sources of information for many Cubans.

A Swift Shutdown

On March 22, Radio Martí staff received an email abruptly notifying them the outlet was being shut down. Journalists were in the middle of interviews when the news broke. “They said, ‘We think we’ve been terminated. We need to leave,’” Cuban activist Ramón Saúl Sánchez told The New York Times.

A similar scene played out at Voice of America’s headquarters in Washington. After Trump’s order, hundreds of employees were placed on administrative leave and immediately lost access to their email and internal systems, The New York Times reported. In some regions, VOA radio frequencies went silent or began playing music. Veteran correspondent Steven Herman wrote in what he described as a requiem for the agency: “To ​effectively shutter the Voice of America is to dim a beacon that burned bright during some of the darkest hours since 1942.”

Settling Scores with the Media

For Trump and his allies, these broadcasters have long symbolized what they call “liberal bias” and bureaucratic waste. During his first term, the Trump administration tried to steer VOA’s editorial line closer to its agenda, even investigating journalists over social media posts — a move later deemed improper by federal watchdogs, according to The New York Times.

Now, under his renewed presidency, the crackdown is much more aggressive. Trump appointed Kari Lake, a former television anchor and loyal supporter, as special adviser to USAGM. She wasted no time denouncing the agency as “rotten to the core” and claimed, without offering evidence, that it had been infiltrated by “spies and terrorist sympathizers.”

In a statement cited by BBC, Lake said:“Waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldn’t have to fund it.”

Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most prominent advisors in this second term, echoed these sentiments, calling VOA and its sister agencies “icons of the radical left talking to themselves while burning $1 billion a year of U.S. taxpayer money.”

Propaganda or Public Service?

Critics argue that what’s at stake is not only the future of U.S.-funded journalism, but also the country’s standing as a global advocate for freedom of expression. The National Press Club, quoted by BBC, issued a scathing statement:“If an entire newsroom can be sidelined overnight, what does that say about the state of press freedom? An entire institution is being dismantled piece by piece. This is not just a personnel decision — it is a fundamental shift that endangers the future of independent journalism at Voice of America.”

Mike Abramowitz, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, warned that the move was: “A huge gift to the enemies of the United States.”

He added that as adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran pour billions into disinformation, silencing these U.S. outlets leaves audiences vulnerable to unchecked propaganda. “The mission is more critical than ever,” he said to BBC.

Even Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský weighed in, expressing hopes that the European Union might find ways to keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty operating from its Prague base.

Silencing Cuba

Among the most affected is Radio Martí, whose content had long been blocked in Cuba but was finding new life online. According to internal data cited by The New York Times, the station had over 1 million followers on Facebook and logged 14 million views on YouTube this fiscal year — 80% of which came from Cuba.

Journalist Mario J. Pentón, who joined Martí after moving to the U.S. from Cuba, emphasized the outlet’s vital role, especially during rolling blackouts and political turmoil.  
“Cuba is going through its worst crisis, and in the middle of this crisis, this information blackout debacle only benefits the regime,” he told The New York Times.

Radio Martí has won eight Emmy Awards and, despite operating on a reduced $17 million budget, had seen its audience surge in recent years.

Fear and Uncertainty

The human toll is steep. As AFP reported, contractors — many of whom are not U.S. citizens and depend on their jobs to retain visa status — were emailed on Sunday and informed they would be terminated by the end of March. The message read:“You must cease any work immediately and are not permitted to access agency buildings or systems.”

While full-time staff with stronger legal protections were not immediately dismissed, most remain on paid leave with no clarity on when or if they’ll return.

These measures leave journalists — many of whom spent years reporting from dangerous environments — in limbo, and the flow of reliable news into authoritarian countries severely disrupted.

What Comes Next?

Some members of Congress, including Cuban American Republican Mario Díaz-Balart, have vowed to fight for the reinstatement of outlets like Martí. But the White House maintains that the “complex and fluid” situation required hard choices. According to The New York Times, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment directly on whether he supported the cuts.

For critics, this is about more than budgets or bureaucratic reform. It’s part of a broader pattern in which Trump has repeatedly labeled traditional news outlets like CNN and The New York Times as “corrupt” and “the enemy of the people.” Silencing publicly funded media is seen as an extension of that strategy — one that could undermine U.S. soft power on a global scale.

The shutdown of Voice of America, Radio Martí, and other U.S.-funded broadcasters signals a turning point. While the Trump administration frames the closures as a matter of fiscal responsibility, the broader implications are far-reaching. In a world increasingly dominated by state-controlled narratives, shuttering America’s international media presence not only dims a beacon of press freedom — it risks ceding the information war to its authoritarian rivals.