According to a former advisor on USAID-funded projects in northwest Colombia, USAID's closure has shattered local trust in social organizations, with people unable to grasp why the agency suddenly left Chocó after so many years.

Date: 2/26

Region: Latin America & Caribbean

Country: Colombia

Topic: Peacebuilding & Stabilization

Policy Lens: Moral Leadership

Entry Type: Secondary Effect

Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report's original reporting found in the Devex featured article "USAID moves out, gangs move in: The cost of aid cuts in Colombia." Our journalist traced the unraveling of years of prevention work in Colombia to better understand how gangs and armed groups were quick to exploit the vacuum left behind when this work was cancelled.

This information was provided to The Aid Report by Ramiro Rodríguez Padilla, who was formerly a legal adviser and organizer at both the Chocó Solidarity Inter-ethnic Forum, or FISCH, and the Greater Community Council of the Integral Peasant Association of the Middle Atrato, or COCOMACIA. Both of these organizations used to receive funding from USAID.

Source: Devex