Extreme and widespread poverty persists in Colombia despite the billions of dollars worth of aid the country has received from the U.S., The Washington Post reports.
U.S. aid has strengthened Colombia’s security and economy, but the country is still burdened by a 43 percent poverty rate, which many say is the root of the drug trafficking that fuels the country’s long-standing conflict.
Unless Colombia’s poverty is significantly reduced, the progress made by the government in easing the 46-year-old conflict could regress even as the U.S. continues to send military aid, experts said, according to Washington Post. The big socio-economic gap between the rich and the poor in the county should also be addressed, experts added.
