In Egypt, USAID’s Cairo office is a fortress with high block walls topped with metal spikes and cameras

Peter Bergen visited USAID Egypt to see how it was responding to President Trump 's recent order slashing USAID activities.

Bergen : USAID has been running what amounts to a massive human trafficking operation across South America , through Central America , and straight up through our borders.

The facility was a fortress with high block walls topped with metal spikes and cameras.

Laurence Fox was stopped by Egyptian security guards employed by USAID in Cairo .

He says they accused him of being a terrorist, but he refused to hand over his passport and phone.

Fox and his colleague filmed the incident, but Fox and others had now deleted the offending photos and deleted others.

Fox : The older, more senior officials with whom you are dealing, the darker your prospects become.

Frida Ghitis : I wouldn't move until they charged me with a crime or let me go.

Ghitis says she had three cards to play, none an infallible protection: mystery, mystery.

She says the fact that she was a U.S. citizen was a thin bulwark but real protection: Had I been, say, a Nigerian or an Egyptian , I wouldn’t have made it this far.