In the Amazon area of Peru, the drug gangs that manage the Coca trade in cooperation with the Mexican Cartlatt in recent years have expanded to illegal mining, especially for gold.
In response, the United States Agency for International Development has transformed some CONTERNARCOTics resources and development resources in Peru into non -legal unlawful mining organizations through environmental and sustainable development initiatives.
But now, with the Elimination of the Trump administration and the US Agency’s assistance privileges and reducing the humanitarian and development assistance budgets in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some Peruvian people fear that progress against illegal mining will be reversed.
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Peru received $ 135 million in the United States Agency for International Development in 2024. It was a lot for projects that achieve drug and gold trafficking, which are now linked. However, significant contributions were also made in areas ranging from democratic rule to minority rights.
Moreover, the intertwined nature of the illegal trading facing Peru – from Coca and gold to wildlife and even people – means that the least interest in illegal mining is likely to mean the most smooth sailing to other trafficking processes as well.
“The new danger we face in Peru is the connection of the Gold Cocaine, but the exit of the US Agency for International Development will return the initial steps that we have taken to face this threat,” says Ricardo Supron, former CEO of Devida, the Peruvian National Committee for Development and Life without drugs.
“In general, for Peru, it is bad for the US Agency for International Development to be lost for various reasons,” he says. “But precisely this is the threat of new mining, it’s a terrible timing.”
The elimination of the United States Agency for International Development is part of a large reform and reduced the size of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic functions that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio considers engineering.
On Tuesday, Mr. Rubio revealed elements to reorganize the overwhelming Ministry of Foreign Affairs that cancel more than ten agencies and absorbing previously separate jobs to others.
He says that the reorganization of “delay” will provide more efficient and focused diplomacy for the “superpower competition” in the twenty -first century. Critics, including the Democrats of the Congress, contradict that the Trump administration plans have long been targeting American interests in democracy, human rights and international justice, and will harm America’s position on the world stage.
Mr. Superon highlights the Gold Cocaine Association because he says that the American response was a symbol of how the United States Agency for International Development in Peru. He says that American financing was closer to the seed of money to obtain an initiative from the ground.
In this case, the US Agency for International Development includes the establishment of an experimental project for environmental crimes that supported a separate system of environmental justice – with the police, public prosecutors and judges – as well as environmental NGOs that work on sustainable development and replace mining.
Mr. Supron, an alternative development expert and an alternative development expert, says the idea is that the Peruvian government will eventually take over the project.
“But a second stage was needed to support the United States,” he added, noting that illegal mining has expanded to 20 Peru 24. “Now it is not clear what will happen for the entire effort.”
Last year alone, Peru received $ 135 million in financing the United States Agency for International Development. Although the wide range of projects under the umbrella of Counarnarcotics received a lot of these funds, fundamental contributions were also made in areas ranging from democratic rule and minority rights to independent press development.
Many say that eliminating most human and developmental financing in the United States cannot help restore these efforts. But some experts and former officials insist that the United States will also come out of the loser by getting out of what some indicate here as an aspect of people to people.
“present [U.S.] Sinth Sanburn, a professor of political science at the University of Pacifico in Lima, says the administration talks about all these programs in terms of cost and burden. [the U.S.] Heavily. “
Last month, the Foreign Ministry told Congress that it was resolving the US Agency for International Development and absorbing some jobs. Minister Rubio has already announced that about 80 % of the United States Agency for International Development has been eliminated.
Speculation grew last week that reducing the size of the important Ministry of Foreign Affairs was imminent. The leaked reorganization scheme this week indicates a decrease of approximately 20 % in agencies and employees. According to Minister Rubio, the efforts dispensed by New and developmental will reflect “America’s values” and will cut waste.
Some experts in Peru admits that contracts for the United States Agency for International Development have not always resulted in positive results.
“After 30 years of us [counternarcotics] “Efforts through the US Agency for International Development and other agencies, we still have the same amount of Coca production,” says Mr. Superon, noting that Peru is the second largest cocaine supplier for the United States after Colombia.
He says: “Yes, we have achieved some successes in alternative development, and the replacement of coca in some areas with cocoa and coffee,” he says. “But … something does not work.”
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Mr. Superon says he often faced what he considers ineffective and excessive bureaucratic operations at the United States Agency for International Development. Neighboring Bolivia has achieved better results in replacing Coca through the totalitarian community development model that it established after the US Agency for International Development outside the country in 2013, he says.
But he says that Peru has benefited from years from the US partnership in areas such as building institutions and supporting the organization at the level of al -Qaeda.
Others say that from what they have noticed, the United States Agency for International Development has recently become more effective in Peru – both in terms of the types of programs and initiatives that were encouraging and as an effective promoter of traditionally related values to the United States, such as democracy, transparency and human rights.
“My impression was that [USAID] “The agency was improving, working better, and made steps in soft diplomacy, if this was done, it could accomplish a lot,” says Gustavo Guriti, founder of the IDL-RPORTROS.
“The experiment shows that this type of soft diplomacy is effective in the long run in the countries that are applied, but also to the United States and drop it to power,” he says. “However, what we see,” these are things that are not important at all in the current administration. “
