In Benin, the imprisonment of opponents Joël Aïvo and Reckya Madougou has been condemned by the opposition and civil society. The USA, which had already denounced political interference in the criminal justice system, announced a reduction in its aid to the country.

The U.S. government, through its independent foreign aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), decided to sanction Benin because of "the general decline over several years of Benin's commitment to the MCC Eligibility Criteria, and Principles of Democratic Governance”. The news was made public on Wednesday, December 15, via a press release.

According to the MCC, for several years, Benin has not respected certain commitments falling within its eligibility criteria. He therefore decided to "significantly reduce the country's share of the regional investment" planned by the MCC. The USA had already expressed its concern about the sentencing of opponents Reckya Madougou and Joël Aïvo. The country of Uncle Sam had made it public in a press release published on Monday, December 13 on the State Department website. Washington indeed suspects the Beninese government of mixing "politics with the country's criminal justice system".