The Trump administration has knowledgeable Congress that it intends to shut 5 smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and different diplomatic missions in Africa, Asia and the Western Hemisphere, even because it steams forward with plans to reopen shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has reopened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.
In separate notices despatched late final week to lawmakers, the State Division stated it will shut the U.S. embassy within the Caribbean island of Grenada; the consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia; the American Presence Put up in Winnipeg, Canada; and an embassy department workplace in Douala, Cameroon.
The closures are anticipated to save lots of the federal government roughly $4.4 million per yr, in response to the notices obtained by The Related Press. However the missions to be closed make use of only a few individuals in contrast with others.
The embassy in St. George’s, Grenada, and the consulate in Nagoya have just one American staffer and 5 native workers every. The consulate in Medan has 4 direct-hire U.S. staffers and 47 native workers. The Winnipeg submit has solely two native staffers, and the embassy workplace in Douala has solely 14 native staffers.
The State Division introduced plans earlier this yr to completely shut the U.S. consulate in Peshwar, Pakistan, which was the closest diplomatic mission to Afghanistan since American troops withdrew in 2021.
The steps come because the division strikes to streamline its operations at house and overseas, whereas investing thousands and thousands of {dollars} into reopening the U.S. embassies in Caracas; Damascus, Syria; and Tripoli, Libya; to revive America’s formal diplomatic presence following the ouster of long-ruling autocrats in these nations.
