Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will meet Thursday with U.S. President Barack Obama during a four-day visit to Washington, D.C. The visit includes a ceremony celebrating 15 years of “Plan Colombia” — the package of U.S. assistance that has supported Colombia’s efforts to combat drug-funded insurgent groups and extend social services to conflict-affected communities.
The two presidents are also expected to reveal more details about the next phase of U.S. assistance to Colombia — unofficially dubbed “Plan Colombia 2.0” — now that the South American country is close to signing a long-sought and controversial peace treaty with the FARC guerrilla movement. Many expect a peace agreement could be signed within the first half of this year.
Santos, accompanied by several cabinet members, will meet with a wide range of officials and policymakers during the four-day visit. The White House is touting the visit as reflective of “one of the premier foreign policy successes for the United States in recent years,” which has come at a cost of over $9 billion in U.S. assistance to Colombia since 2000.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
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