In a decree issued on 14 March 2025, US President Donald Trumpordered the dismantling of USAGM, the federal agency overseeing several independent media outlets, such as Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). On 15 March, Voice of America (VOA) employeesreceived an email announcing they were immediately placed under administrative leave.
USAGM outlets provide crucial independent news in environments particularly hostile to press freedom, such as Belarus, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Laos, Russia and Vietnam.
USAGM journalists have faced serious danger to keep the public informed. Currently, nine of the ten USAGM staffers imprisoned across the globe are journalists: four in Vietnam, two in Russia, one in Belarus, one in Azerbaijan, and one in Myanmar. Some have received particularly harsh sentences, such as Ihar Losik, a contributor to RFE/RL’s Belarus service, who isserving a 15-year sentence in a hard labour colony on charges including “organisation of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.”