Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said Monday that cuts in U.S. military aid to Colombia would jeopardize the achievements that the Andean nation has made over the last decade in the fight against drug trafficking.
Santos, who is participating in a forum organized by the U.S. Inter-American Institute for Peace and Dialogue, was responding to a letter sent by U.S. Congressmen to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last Tuesday. In the letter, the Congressmen requested a decrease in U.S. military aid to Colombia and suggested that their nation focus more on supporting justice, law enforcement, humanitarian assistance and development within the country.
“More cuts to military resources could put in danger the important gains that have been made, not only on Colombian territory and the fight against drugs, but also in the establishment of democratic institutions and development programs,” Santos said.
Santos also said he was “in complete disagreement” with the Congressmen’s concerns over the deterioration of human rights conditions in Colombia – in particular the “false positives” cases – and asked them to take into account Colombia’s progress in human rights standards over the last few years, El Tiempo reported.