Is US Aid Package Supporting Colombia Peace, or War?

$400 Million Annual Aid Will Flow Either Way

The Obama Administration responded to Colombia’s ceasefire deal with FARC by pledging $400 million annually in aid to “support the process.” Yet with Colombian voters having just voted against peace, there is no sign that the US is going to change the aid package.

Analysts warn this is raising doubts about what the US is actually paying for, and whether what was supposed to be a package to pay for the transition to peace is going to just end up being used for the transition back to war.

The administration isn’t offering any clarity on this matter, with the State Department praising Colombia for “the democratic process held yesterday,” and the White House insisting that the US will support the will of the voters.

This reflects comparative US ambivalence about what direction the process actually goes. The US has been bankrolling Colombia for decades, and wanted to use the peace process as a vindication of that effort. Ultimately, however, they seem find using the return to war as the same vindication, with aid simply an end unto itself.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.