The U.S. State Department said on Monday that a U.S. Agency for International Development team was heading to Myanmar to help identify the country's most pressing needs in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people.
But a former top USAID official and a source familiar with the matter said the three-member assessment team's departure was delayed by problems obtaining visas from Myanmar's military rulers.
Moreover, they said, the overall response of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been hobbled by the huge fund cuts, contractor terminations and plans to fire nearly all USAID staff directed by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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