FIGHTING TERRORISM WITH FOREIGN AID: A CASE FOR CONTINUED U.S. ASSISTANCE IN LATIN AMERICA

Often it is believed that terrorist organizations are solely based in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, but what if there were groups using terrorist tactics right in our backyard? The Western Hemisphere has seen its share of terrorist organizations since the early 1960s. In recent years there has been a rise of insurgencies in Latin America, and these groups have been directly linked to terrorist organizations in the Middle East. Counterterrorism is one of America’s front line policies in order to create a safer global environment. The U.S. government uses several different strategies to combat terrorism, such as, military force and foreign aid. Critics often debate whether foreign aid is effective or whether it is just creating more unstable governments and increased U.S. dependency. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance as a counterterrorism strategy. It looks at the role that United States foreign assistance has played in India’s counterterrorism strategy, and how the application of a similar strategy in Latin America has proven to be successful to combat the rise of terrorism in the region