As much as 50% of humanitarian demining projects have been suspended in Colombia due to the Trump administration's funding freeze in January, NGO and government officials said.
For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia's conflict have used landmines to strengthen their control of rural areas. While the 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) achieved a dramatic drop in mine deployment, the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has seen a resurgence in recent years among the country's armed actors.
A report by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) published in March found a 42% inter-annual increase in victims of landmines in Colombia in 2024. InSight Crime, an organized crime monitor, also warned earlier this year that landmines are "making a comeback in Colombia."
Washington has historically financed the bulk of landmine action in Colombia, supplying 64% of all funds for the sector in 2024.
In this context, the suspension of demining poses an "imminent risk" to civilians in Colombia, senior figures from mine action NGOs told The Latin Times.
How important is the US in demining efforts?
Katerina Paton Colonia is a Colombian mine action expert who was involved in setting up the government's first demining program, the Humanitarian Demining Brigade, in 2005.
"The American government was the one that started and strengthened the creation of this brigade. It was born out of American cooperation," Paton told The Latin Times.
For two decades, the U.S. helped fund and develop demining in Colombia, both by the government and by NGOs, including the Halo Trust, the Colombian Campaign Against Mines (CCCM) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).
Tyler Bird spent seven years working at the Halo Trust and CCCM before starting as a Program Management Officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service in New York.
"[US support] is absolutely crucial. They are the single biggest donor, but they're also the most consistent donor," Bird told The Latin Times.
But in his first 24 hours in office, Trump ordered the suspension of all foreign aid.
What impact has the freeze had?
Pedro, a former senior official at the Halo Trust who asked to not give his last name, spoke to The Latin Times about the impact of the freeze on his organization.
"That Monday at 7 a.m., they got all the HALO managers together to tell us about this situation because 60% of HALO's money had been coming from the U.S. State Department," Pedro recalled.
The next week, Pedro was dismissed alongside some 50% of the NGO's staff. Half of the offices across the country were also shuttered.
Iñigo, a senior official at another top demining NGO in Colombia, who also wished to remain anonymous, explained that the cuts were sector-wide.
"All the organizations here in Colombia had to reduce our staff... we lost invaluable people, but the fact is there's no donor, so it is impossible to pay them," Iñigo, who kept his job, told The Latin Times.
Pedro also explained that amid the funding cuts, the first employees and activities to be hit are those in the field, because they tend to be the most expensive.
An anonymous source from the government's mine action sector said that roughly 50% of all demining projects nationwide were suspended as a result of Trump's order.
Bird suggested the number could be higher. "60% or more of the hazardous areas that are currently being worked on, potentially, could be just sitting there waiting to be cleared," said the UN mine officer.
While the funding freeze affected the livelihoods of hundreds of humanitarian employees, its impact can be a matter of life or death for civilians living in Colombia's mined regions.
"It is going to directly impact the populations affected by the armed conflict in Colombia. [...] This is an imminent risk for the civilian population located in these cities and municipalities," said Pedro.
He said that the Halo Trust had to suspend activities in some conflict areas, exposing the most vulnerable populations to landmine ordnance.
The ICRC recorded 262 casualties of landmines in 2024 in Colombia last year, despite the efforts of NGOs and the government.
"The impact of each of these [incidents] is not only reflected in the number of people injured or killed," explained José Antonio Delgado, the ICRC's National Director of Operations.
He described the knock-on effect of disabilities caused by mines and confinement due to fear of the explosives.
"When you stop having mobility, the communities see an impact in terms of food security - you cannot access your fields, your territories, you cannot grow crops - difficulties in accessing essential services that can range from access to health, but also access to water," Delgado told The Latin Times.
What happens next?
Demining NGOs will have more certainty over their future on April 24, when the 90-day funding freeze comes to an end and the Trump administration is expected to announce what it will and will not fund.
Bird believes Washington is unlikely to support Colombian mine action to the same extent as before, as the cost per square meter of terrain cleared is exceptionally expensive in Colombia given its complex terrain.
But he thinks it is more likely to receive funding than other Colombian humanitarian programs that deal with migration, environmental issues, gender and culture.
Paton worries that even if the funds are resumed, the damage has been done in communities hit by program suspensions, who will be hesitant to trust NGOs again.
"You have to generate immense bonds of trust within each of these communities... this [freeze] breaks the social fabric. I see it as very grave from that point of view," said the mine expert.
Despite the gloomy outlook, Iñigo described lingering hope among the demining community.
"I talk with all the organizations, we always maintain hope. I always say that one has to dance to the rhythm they play for you, and in this case the rhythm is being dictated by the United States," said the senior NGO official.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
