Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos offered financial aid to the island of San Andres from assets siezed from drug trafficking, local media reported on Sunday.
The International Court of Justice [ICJ] ruled that the island of San Andres will remain Colombia’s, but a large portion of the surrounding waters will now be under Nicaraguan control.
According to local media, on December 29 President Santos will become part of a cabinet that will review measures taken to prevent an economic collapse on San Andres. The President reportedly promised that assets from drug-related real estate seizures will be sold and the funds will go to San Andres.
This announcement comes after a similar one made by Colombia’s president earlier this month where he declared that the tiny Caribbean archipelago will receive $110 million investment.
Santos explained that the $110 million investment would be broken into two stages —
According to Santos, these investments will inject “new air” into the archipelago.
“We will do everything within our domain, our power, to [make the archipelagos] better, ultimately, than they were before the failure,” said the president.