Political and Economic Control and the Plundering of Wealth

Saleh’s rule was not just a period in office; it was a full-fledged takeover by the Afaash network of loyalists, lasting 33 years of near-absolute control that led to comprehensive collapse. Despite the absence of wars or blockades for most of that time, the economy deteriorated and development crumbled because of deliberate, destructive policies. The regime deprived people of basic services and infrastructure, turning the economy into an import-dependent consumer market, which destroyed local production and weakened the national economy.

The traitor did not stop there; he collaborated with the U.S.-Saudi-Emirati aggression and blockade that targeted Yemen’s already fragile infrastructure, seized oil resources, and cut public-sector salaries—doubling people’s suffering. Oil and gas revenues, which exceeded $500 billion, were not used for the nation’s benefit but were deposited in secret accounts controlled by the traitor’s family and cronies, according to local and international official reports. These ruinous policies fueled poverty and unemployment, looted public budgets, and converted international aid into tools for cementing tribal patronage, deepening the economic crisis.

Administrative Corruption and the Systematic Destruction of Public Services

The traitor’s crimes were not limited to finances; they extended to dismantling the state’s administrative institutions. Yemen suffered severe administrative decay, with outdated regulations and bloated structures designed to distribute posts at the expense of the public interest. The result was a wholesale failure of administrative performance and the disappearance of integrated planning.

On the services front, healthcare deteriorated tragically, with hospitals and clinics scarce across many districts, forcing patients to seek treatment abroad and compounding people’s hardship. Education fared no better: it was subjected to a deliberate dumbing-down, while curricula were bent toward external programs aimed at embedding toxic loyalties. Educational infrastructure—especially in rural areas—was neglected, sabotaging the future of generations.

At the same time, vital infrastructure projects—roads, sanitation—stalled, while the ongoing exodus of skilled professionals, who found no livable environment at home, further hollowed out national capacity.

Security and Political Crimes and the Violation of National Sovereignty

The traitor’s era was rife with political crimes: the assassination of opponents, activists, and national leaders with the complicity of security services that served American and Israeli agendas in a context of deliberate repression. He played a central role in unravelling national sovereignty through secret deals with foreign powers, including selling off oil, borderlands, and strategic islands—paving the way for foreign domination.

He permitted the establishment of U.S. and Israeli military bases inside Yemen, facilitated surveillance and espionage operations, and colluded with foreign forces in the detention and killing of Yemenis under flimsy pretexts. Moral corruption spread widely as drug networks and alcohol consumption proliferated within regime circles under official cover, accelerating social decay.

U.S. Intervention and the Manufacture of Dependency and Subservience

From the outset of his rule, the traitor mortgaged Yemen’s decision-making to U.S. interests through dubious appointments and constant interference by the U.S. embassy, which tightened its grip on the state’s levers. The regime exploited U.S. “development” programs to cultivate loyal leaderships and allowed American and Zionist organizations to operate under the guise of development and human rights—promoting normalization discourse and eroding hostility toward Israel.

He built security units and agencies that served foreign interests, weakening the national state and imposing dictated policies on governing institutions. Education and media sectors were targeted to unravel the national fabric and deepen identity crises.

The rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh epitomized unparalleled treachery and corruption, steering the country toward the abyss and placing the interests of Yemen’s enemies above those of its people. The devastation and looting he left behind are not merely a black chapter of history—they are an open wound still gnawing at the nation’s body.

Yemen today stands at a decisive crossroads. Closing the book on dependency and corruption is imperative, and the path forward is through enlightened popular awareness and sincere national struggle. There is no salvation without dismantling the networks of corruption, resisting all forms of foreign hegemony, and building a strong national state that protects citizens’ rights and guarantees them a dignified life.

The future lies in Yemenis’ hands alone: either they rise up against this heavy legacy of betrayal, or they continue paying the price of tutelage and servitude. Yemen deserves freedom and dignity; there is no option but full liberation and a march toward building a prosperous, sovereign homeland.