2026-05-01T14:05:58.487Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：珍妮弗·汉斯勒
更新于2026年5月1日，美国东部时间上午10:50
首发于2026年5月1日，美国东部时间上午10:05
2025年12月29日，美国华盛顿特区罗纳德·里根大厦与国际贸易中心外墙上残留的美国国际开发署（USAID）标识。
布伦丹·斯米亚洛夫斯基/法新社/盖蒂图片社/资料图
特朗普政府在全球暂停并削减人道主义援助，并着手解散美国国际开发署后，伊朗支持的也门胡塞武装缴获了包括车辆在内的美国资助的物资和装备。
多名美国前官员告诉CNN，2025年价值超过12.2万美元的装备被缴获，是特朗普政府削减资助速度过快以及美国国际开发署发生剧烈变革的后果。
据这些前官员透露，美国国际开发署官员和人道主义工作者此前曾警告称，这些政府声称旨在打击纳税人资金浪费的突然变革，可能导致美国资助的物资落入敌对势力手中。
“你不得不扪心自问——我们突然撤走所有援助，是不是在无意间帮了（胡塞武装）？”一名前政府官员说道。
这起缴获事件于4月初由美国国际开发署监督机构披露。CNN采访了多名前美国政府官员，他们表示，该机构的突然解散造成了权力真空，被美国的对手所利用。
美国历来是也门人道主义援助的最大捐赠国，也门数百万民众依赖这些援助生存。特朗普政府暂停人道主义援助之初，官员们曾表示对也门的资助不受影响。但到了4月，政府终止了所有针对也门工作的人道主义援助项目，情况突然发生了变化。
“短短24到48小时内，所有援助项目全部停摆，”这名前官员说道。
官员们表示，在正常情况下，不再获得资助的人道主义组织将与美国国际开发署合作制定所谓的“处置计划”。这些计划旨在确保美国资助的资产“符合美国的最佳利益”，可能会将装备或物资转移给其他组织、其他国家，或进行无害化处理，以防止浪费、被盗或滥用。
这名前官员称，这类计划通常需要多名官员审核才能获得最终批准，通常需要数月时间。
“但在这次事件中，这一切都没有发生，”他们说道。特朗普政府已让美国国际开发署的大多数员工休假，并在也门合同被削减时，解雇或临时解雇了数千名承包商。留守的工作人员不允许与当地的人道主义合作伙伴沟通。
“合作伙伴甚至不知道该联系谁，也得不到任何回复，”另一名前美国政府官员告诉CNN。
“我们不仅没有给他们任何指导——实际上我们甚至不被允许回复邮件确认收到——他们无法花钱对这些物资进行负责任的处置，也不知道可以把物资交给谁，”第一名前官员说道。
能够接收这些资产的组织寥寥无几，因为美国的支持“对也门的人道主义救援行动至关重要”。因此，在资助被切断后，人道主义组织陷入了困境，不知道如何处理包括食品、卫生用品和装备在内的美国资助物资。
这种情况在也门北部尤为复杂，该地区基本由胡塞武装控制。伊朗支持的胡塞武装是也门多年内战的交战方之一，这场内战使该国陷入饥荒。唐纳德·特朗普总统连任就职几天后，重新将该组织列为外国恐怖组织。
第二名前官员表示，如果有足够的时间，他们本可以与联合国或其他方合作，制定一项计划，将美国资助的资产转移到也门南部——那里并非胡塞武装实际控制，民众仍迫切需要援助。但这一切都没有实现。
警告是否送达领导层尚不明确
有人曾努力预警，在资助突然全面削减且缺乏资产处置计划指导的情况下，胡塞武装可能会缴获物资。目前尚不清楚这些警告是否传达给了美国国际开发署或国务院的高级领导层。
“事态发展太过突然，合作伙伴已经在问，‘我们该怎么处理我们的资产？如果胡塞武装没收这些资产怎么办？’”第二名前官员说道，他们特别担心，鉴于胡塞武装被重新列为恐怖组织，违反禁止为恐怖分子提供资金或其他支持的法律。
“我们曾表示，胡塞武装已经开始缴获资产，这将成为合作伙伴和我们的担忧所在，因为这些是美国国际开发署资助的装备和资产，”这名官员说道。“当我们向领导层提出此事时，他们的回应是‘好的，好的，我们知道了’。”
“组织们都非常、非常害怕。尤其是因为胡塞武装曾仅仅因为一些小事就绑架、酷刑并杀害美国政府、联合国和非政府组织的工作人员，”第一名前官员说道。“现在有大量物资处于危险之中，而且情况发展得非常快，胡塞武装直接上门，开始用武力夺取物资。”
当被问及美国国际开发署监察长办公室的调查结果以及前官员发出的警告和担忧时，美国国务院发言人没有直接回答问题。
“胡塞武装是恐怖分子，他们完全无意帮助也门人民，”这位发言人说道。他承认“在也门境内，恐怖组织胡塞武装继续围捕和拘留数十名联合国、非政府组织和外交使团的当地工作人员，关押条件恶劣，包括被非法关押的美国政府现任和前任也门雇员，他们被捏造罪名起诉。”
一名合作伙伴组织在也门北部的仓库中存放着美国国际开发署资助的物资，但在资助暂停后，他们无力支付仓库租金。留守的美国国际开发署官员“无法给他们任何处置指导，因为华盛顿方面不回复邮件，”这名官员补充道，胡塞武装很有可能拿走了这些资产。
“我们不断有报告称，胡塞武装的平板卡车装满了美国国际开发署的装备，”他们指出。
美国国际开发署监察长办公室发布的调查摘要显示，该办公室于2025年6月获悉胡塞武装从一家美国国际开发署资助的援助组织手中缴获了美国政府资助的装备，包括车辆和“其他实物库存”。
“监察长办公室的调查发现，在该援助组织的美国国际开发署资助项目终止后，该组织停止了在也门的运营，并试图按照项目要求捐赠其美国政府资助的资产，包括车辆和其他实物库存。然而，胡塞武装代表要求该受资助方清点资产并将其移交给胡塞武装。该受资助方因担心其当地和国际员工的安全而 complied（顺从），”摘要中写道。
监察长办公室在去年2月的一份报告中也曾警告，特朗普政府解散美国国际开发署以及全面冻结外国援助，使得追踪美国纳税人资助的人道主义援助被潜在滥用的难度加大，最终可能会在无意间支持恐怖组织。
“该机构近期大范围的人员裁减……加上对外国援助豁免范围以及与执行方沟通许可的不确定性，削弱了美国国际开发署分发和保障纳税人资助的人道主义援助的能力，”该报告称。美国国际开发署监察长在该报告发布一天后被解雇。
关于也门局势，前官员表示，美国国际开发署本可以以更循序渐进的方式降低资产被缴获的风险。
“即便他们提前给我们一点通知，我们也可以减少在北部地区的资产风险，但他们事先没有任何预兆，之后又坚决拒绝提供任何负责任的指导，这真的把我们的合作伙伴置于了绝境，也让胡塞武装在资产方面大获全胜，”第一名前官员说道。
How US equipment ended up in the hands of Iran’s allies in Yemen as USAID was disbanded
2026-05-01T14:05:58.487Z / CNN
By Jennifer Hansler
Updated May 1, 2026, 10:50 AM ET
PUBLISHED May 1, 2026, 10:05 AM ET
Remnants of signage for the US Agency for International Development, on the facade of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, on December 29, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images/File
The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen seized US funded supplies and equipment, including vehicles, after the Trump administration suspended and slashed humanitarian funding around the world and began dismantling the US Agency of International Development.
Former US officials told the CNN the seizure of more than $122,000 worth of equipment in 2025, was a consequence of the speed of the Trump administration funding cuts and the drastic changes at USAID.
According to those former officials, USAID officials and humanitarian workers had warned that those sudden changes – which the administration said were made to combat waste of taxpayer resources – could lead to US-funded goods falling into hostile hands.
“You have to ask yourself – did we, by all of a sudden pulling out all of this aid, did we unwittingly help (the Houthis)?” one former government official said.
The seizure was revealed by the USAID watchdog in early April. CNN spoke to several former US government officials who said the organization’s sudden dismantling created a vacuum which the US adversary was able to exploit.
The US is historically the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Yemen, where millions rely on the assistance. At the beginning of the administration’s suspension of humanitarian aid, officials said funding for Yemen was not affected. But that suddenly changed in April when the administration terminated all of its humanitarian awards for work in Yemen.
“Within 24 to 48 hours, 100% of the portfolio was gone,” the former official said.
Under normal circumstances, the officials said, humanitarian organizations that are no longer going to receive funding will work with USAID on what is called a “disposition plan.” Those plans are meant to ensure that US-funded assets are used “in the best interest of the United States,” and might see equipment or goods transferred to other organizations or other countries or disposed of to ensure they are not wasted, stolen or misused.
The plans typically are reviewed by multiple officials before receiving final approval, and they usually take several months, the former official said.
“In this case, none of that happened,” they said. The Trump administration had already put most USAID staff on leave and furloughed or laid off thousands of contractors when contracts for Yemen were cut. Staff members who remained were not allowed to communicate with humanitarian partners on the ground.
“Partners wouldn’t even know whom to contact, and they weren’t getting any callbacks,” another former US government official told CNN.
“Not only did we not have any guidance for them – in fact we were not even allowed to acknowledge the receipt of an email – they couldn’t spend any money to dispose of the items responsibly and they didn’t know who they were allowed to give it to,” the first former official said.
There were very few organizations who could have taken the assets, because US support “was so central to the humanitarian response” in Yemen. As such, the humanitarian organizations were left in limbo about what to do with the US-funded goods, including food, hygiene kits and equipment, now that the funding was cut off.
The situation was especially complicated in northern Yemen, which is largely controlled by the Houthis. The Iranian-backed Houthis were one party to Yemen’s yearslong civil war that plunged the country into famine. Days after taking office for a second term, President Donald Trump re-designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
If there had been enough time, the second former official said they believed they could have worked with the UN or other parties on a plan that would allow them to transfer US-funded assets to southern Yemen, where the Houthis were not the de-facto authorities and the population is still in desperate need. That did not happen.
Unclear if warnings reached leadership
There were efforts to warn of the risks of Houthi seizure in light of the sudden and wholesale cuts to funding and the lack of guidance on disposition plans. It is unclear if those warnings reached the senior leadership at USAID or the State Department.
“It was so sudden, and partners were already saying, ‘What are we going to do with our assets? What if the Houthis confiscate the assets?” the second former officials said, noting they were particularly concerned about violating laws that prohibit monetary or other support for terrorists given the re-designation of the Houthis.
“We had said the Houthis have already started to seize assets, and this is going to be an issue and a concern for partners, and a concern for us also because it’s USAID-funded equipment, funded assets,” this official said. “When it was raised to our leadership, they were like, yes, yes, we’re aware.”
“Organizations were really, really scared. Particularly because the Houthis have kidnapped, tortured, and killed both USG, UN, and NGO staff for less,” the first former official said. “Now there were assets in play and very quickly, so you had the Houthis just coming in and starting to take stuff by force.”
Asked about the OIG findings and the warnings and concerns from former officials, a State Department spokesperson did not directly answer the questions.
“The Houthis are terrorists who are wholly uninterested in helping Yemenis,” the spokesperson said. They acknowledged that “within Yemen, the terrorist Houthis continue to round up and detain dozens of local staff members of the UN, NGOs, and diplomatic missions under abysmal conditions, including current and former Yemeni staff of the United States government unlawfully held based on false accusations.”
In one example, a partner organization had USAID-funded goods in a warehouse in northern Yemen, but when funding was suspended, it couldn’t pay for the warehouse anymore. Remaining USAID officials “couldn’t give them any disposition guidance because Washington wouldn’t answer emails,” the official described, adding that it was very likely the Houthis took the assets.
“We kept hearing of reports of Houthi trucks, flatbed trucks, full of USAID equipment,” they noted.
The investigative summary released by the USAID Inspector General’s Office said that it was informed in June 2025 of the Houthi seizure of US government funded-equipment, including vehicles and “other physical inventory,” from a USAID-funded aid organization.
“OIG’s investigation found evidence that, after the termination of the aid organization’s USAID-funded award, it ceased operations in Yemen and sought to donate its U.S.-government-funded assets, to include vehicles and other physical inventory, in accordance with award requirements. However, Houthi representatives required the awardee to inventory and transfer the assets to the Houthis. The awardee complied due to concerns about the safety of its local and international staff,” the summary said.
The inspector general’s office had also warned in a report last February that the Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its sweeping freeze on foreign aid has made it more difficult to track potential misuse of US taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance and could end up unintentionally supporting terrorist groups.
“Recent widespread staffing reductions across the Agency…coupled with uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance waivers and permissible communications with implementers, has degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance,” that report said. The USAID inspector general was fired one day after that report was released.
On Yemen, the former officials said USAID could have reduced the risk of the seizure of the assets it had been done in a more phased way.
“If they had given us even a little bit of a heads up, we could have reduced our liabilities in the north, but because they did it with no notice and then adamantly refused to provide any responsible guidance, it really left our partners in an impossible position and handed the Houthis a huge win in terms of assets,” the first former official said.
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