Obama offers Colombia more than $450 million aid to help with peace process

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will ask the U.S. Congress for more than $450 million in aid to help Colombia implement a peace accord aimed at ending Latin America`s longest war, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, the White House said on Thursday.

The funding would help the Colombian government with counter terrorism and narcotics issues, and education and retraining programs to help reintegrate into society members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist rebel group.

In addition, the U.S. government will commit $33 million to a global programme to help the country deal with a legacy of land mines, the White House said.