Is Colombia sacrificing coca farmers' trust for US Aid dollars?
The priority placed by Colombia's government on reaching eradication goals has put enormous pressure on security forces destroy as much coca as possible
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Colombia's defense minister divulged new coca eradication figures ahead of a meeting between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his US counterpart Donald Trump, a sign of commitment to US policy preferences that may come at the expense of harming trust between Colombia's government and important segments of its own population. With regard to the upcoming meeting, Villegas praised the fact that the US Congress recently approved a $450 million aid package known as "Peace Colombia," which is aimed at supporting the country's peace agreement with the FARC.