The Obama administration on Wednesday pledged to increase security aid to Central America to nearly $300 million this year to help countries in the regions fight the expanding activities of powerful drug cartels. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the new funds at a 12-nation meeting in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Some of the money was previously allotted or is being repackaged from other programs. The total figure represents a more than 10 percent jump from last year's aid of $260 million. Altogether, donors at the conference pledged nearly $1 billion. Years of U.S.-backed anti-drug crackdowns in Mexico and Colombia have pushed traffickers into Central American countries. The problem has grown unchecked in a region facing corruption, poverty, and underfunded police forces.
