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FROM GUNS TO BUTTER

If 5,000 soldiers couldn’t stop the violence in Juárez, will a small army of teachers, doctors and economists be able to do the job?

The U.S. Agency for International Development is betting $1.53 million that they can at least make a difference.

USAID, the development assistance arm of the U.S. State Department, is asking the Paso del Norte Group to find ways to seed economic development, education and other social programs in Juárez.

The private business group, with members in both El Paso and Juárez, will lead the first-of-its-kind program that’s expected to be a model for similar programs along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“If people don’t have jobs, they become ripe for being targeted by sicaros (hitmen) and narco traffickers,â€