Americans have witnessed a host of disturbing connections come to light in recent years.
Some of the most troublesome are those between U.S. foreign programs and an international crises.
And now a former State Department official just revealed this awful secret about the mission in Afghanistan.
Former State Department official blows the whistle on U.S. foreign aid supporting heroin production
Mike Benz, a former State Department official, dropped a bombshell Tuesday when he detailed how American taxpayer money was used to fuel heroin production in Afghanistan for decades.
According to Benz, what began as a covert Cold War operation to support Afghan fighters against the Soviet Union evolved into a self-sustaining heroin network that continued long after the original mission ended.
“What I’m trying to say here is this was a CIA, DOD, black market drug economy that was set up during the Cold War to support the Afghan warriors as they were fighting the Soviets, but then it became a lucrative market unto itself,” Benz explained.
Perhaps most shocking was Benz’s claim that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was directly involved in funding infrastructure used for opium production.
“USAID was funding the Afghan irrigation canals used in heroin production, and this comes straight from the U.S. Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction,” Benz stated.
Benz says this wasn’t simply an unfortunate coincidence or unintended consequence, but part of a larger pattern of questionable operations.
U.S. foreign aid and the web of “plausible deniability”
The former official didn’t stop at exposing the connection between U.S. funds and heroin production. He went further, describing what he called layers of “plausible deniability” created to shield government agencies from direct accountability.
“The CIA was created as a plausible deniability layer for the State Department, and then USAID was created as a second plausible deniability layer for the CIA, and then NED and the U.S. Institute of Peace were created as a plausible deniability layer a little bit below,” Benz revealed.
This web of organizations, according to Benz, allows operations to take place with diminishing levels of direct government fingerprints.
The U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) are supposedly tasked with promoting democracy and development globally. But Benz’s revelations raise serious questions about whether these organizations have been misused.
Government watchdog confirmed irrigation projects supported opium production
Benz’s claims aren’t just speculation. He referenced a June 2018 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that confirmed U.S.-funded irrigation projects facilitated opium poppy cultivation.
The report stated that irrigation projects that were allegedly intended to support alternative agriculture inadvertently enhanced water access in regions with a history of poppy farming.
“The watchdog, established by Congress, wrote in his quarterly report six years ago that actually USAID was keeping the drugs flowing. USAID was cultivating the poppy, growing it,” Benz explained.
Even worse, the report revealed that alternative development programs, which were supposed to substitute other crops for poppy, sometimes contributed to increased poppy production instead.
President Trump takes action against USAID
In February, President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chair Elon Musk began dismantling USAID, announcing plans to fold its functions into the State Department.
This move followed reports that USAID had directed billions in taxpayer funds toward foreign projects that advanced left-wing agendas, despite high risks of those funds reaching controversial entities, including some linked to the Taliban or the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Critics have long questioned the effectiveness and oversight of U.S. foreign aid programs, arguing that too often money is wasted or, worse, ends up supporting activities contrary to American interests and values.
Benz’s revelations provide powerful ammunition for those who have called for greater accountability and transparency in how American tax dollars are spent overseas.
Last night I did a 4 hour deep dive on the US Institute of Peace, its dark role in the drug trade, in astroturfing rent-a-riot street protests, and in influencing courts and judges. Here’s the first 20 mins, will clip & upload the full later this week. pic.twitter.com/7w6jgJHES0
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) May 20, 2025
As this story continues to develop, Americans will be watching closely to see what other uncomfortable truths might emerge about how their tax dollars have been used abroad.
