The Congress approved an increase of the Colombia plan in 2019 for the fight against drugs up to 418 million dollars, 27 million more than in the past year, and in what represents the first increase in three years.
These funds were included in the budget agreement approved at the last minute of this Thursday by Congress to avoid a new partial closure of the federal Administration, and which is expected to be ratified today by the president, Donald Trump.
Precisely, this Wednesday Trump received in the White House the Colombian president, Iván Duque, visiting the country until tomorrow.
“We are working together so that Colombia eradicates something that they are cultivating in Colombia, at this time I would not say they are going (fulfilled) earlier than scheduled, but I hope they do at some point in the near future,” Trump said. receive Duque in the Oval Office.
For his part, Duque, who came to power in August 2018, replied that “in the first four months” of his term “60,000 hectares have been eradicated, many more than those that were eradicated in the last six months.”
In September of 2017, Trump threatened to eliminate certification to Colombia regarding the anti-drug fight, that is, to include the country in a blacklist listing the nations that have breached their international commitments against drug trafficking.
The government of former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reached an agreement in 2018 with the country to work together with the goal of reducing the estimated production of cocaine and coca crops by 50% by 2023, and Duque has committed to meet that goal.
Plan Colombia, launched in 2000 under the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton (1993-2001), has been maintained over the years with both Democrats and Republicans in the White House, in a rare display of bipartisanship in Washington.
The funds of this plan are destined to combat drugs, the implementation of peace agreements, and the eradication of coca crops. (EFEUSA) .-
