The United States announced an additional $3.85 million the Colombian National Police to improve human rights practices as part of a Aug. 21-25 visit with Colombian counterparts under the new Petro Administration from White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator Peter Natiello, and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Todd D. Robinson.
In addition, Mr. Natiello announced plans to program an additional $6 million from USAID to align with Colombia’s ongoing effort to combat food insecurity.
The five-day visit included bilateral meetings to discuss U.S.-Colombia cooperation on peace implementation, including environmental protection, security, rural development, human rights, counternarcotics, and transnational crime.
U.S. officials also had the opportunity to observe a juvenile drug court hearing, an important tool to divert at-risk juveniles from the penal system before they go to trial. Programs such as drug court demonstrate the Biden Administration’s commitment to shifting from a purely punitive approach to substance abuse to a public health one. Finally, the delegation traveled outside Bogota to understand the challenges facing rural communities.
For photos and audio of the delegates’ August 24 engagement with media, please access the following link:
https://app.box.com/s/pcez3wndn3y3ssumsaow5bw4qbtvr802
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