Colombia leader to ask Obama for dollars, terror list change
Source: Associated Press
Colombia leader to ask Obama for dollars, terror list change
Feb 4, 3:25 AM EST
By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- On the verge of an historic truce, the leader of Colombia will ask President Barack Obama for more money and tweaks to U.S. policy to help Colombia rebuild after half a century of guerrilla fighting.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos arrives at the White House amid peace talks between his government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. With a final deal expected as early as next month, the government is looking ahead to a decade-plus effort to recover parts of the country it had lost to the guerrillas during Latin America's longest-running armed conflict.
Ahead of the meeting, White House officials said Obama planned to ask Congress for increased aid for Colombia in his budget proposal next week. The Obama administration hasn't put a number on the request, but Colombia's government has said spending will have to surge after a deal so that roads, schools and health care facilities can be rebuilt in blighted areas that had been ceded to the FARC.
"We recognize in the event of a peace agreement, one of the biggest challenges will be to demobilize the FARC and ensure their reintegration into society as constructive members," said Mark Feierstein, the Western Hemisphere director at the White House's National Security Council. "We intend to put a lot of support into that effort."
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_COLOMBIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-02-04-03-16-27
