{"id":183247,"date":"2021-04-19T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T11:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=183247"},"modified":"2021-04-19T03:53:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T02:53:29","slug":"colombia-an-ideal-u-s-client-state-in-the-western-hemisphere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/04\/colombia-an-ideal-u-s-client-state-in-the-western-hemisphere\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia: An Ideal U.S. Client-State in the Western Hemisphere"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Funeral of slain guerrilla fighter, one of many victims of Colombia\u2019s long civil war. [Source: trtworld.com]<\/p><\/div>\n

Washington has long helped fuel the devastating conflict in Colombia that goes back to the era of La Violencia in World War II.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

16 Apr 2021 – <\/em>Colombia has been living with one of the longest armed conflicts in the world. A peace agreement to end the more than 50-year-old armed civil war was signed in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 between Colombia\u2019s Military Forces and the insurgent\u2019s group, The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (People\u2019s Army or FARC).[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Despite this historic event, violence continues in the country relentlessly.[2]<\/a><\/sup> The New York Times<\/em> reported in a front-page article on Saturday, March 27th<\/sup>, that \u201cremote towns like Puerto Cachicamo have yet to see the schools, clinics, and jobs the government promised in the [peace] agreement. Thousands of dissident FARC combatants have returned to battle, or never laid down their arms, and are fighting rivals for control of illicit markets. Mass killings and forced displacement are again regular occurrences.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The Times<\/em>\u2019s article went on to detail how the Colombian government had bombed a rebel camp in an effort to \u201ctake out a high-profile dissident FARC leader known by the alias Gentil Duarte.\u201d The camp turned out to be full of young people and at least two children under the age of 16 were killed.[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/a>The Origins of the Colombian Armed Conflict<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a result of the rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal parties of Colombia, Liberal leader Jorge Eli\u00e9cer Gaitan was assassinated on the streets of Bogot\u00e1 on April 9, 1948.<\/p>\n

This event, known as El Bogotazo, <\/em>initiated a 10-year period of violence termed \u201cThe Violence.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/sup> During those years nearly 200,000 people lost their lives.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"La
Scene of devastation in Bogota during La Violencia. [Source: historysomeblogspot.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1958 a new political structure was drawn up where political leaders from the parties agreed to rotate power as part of a coalition government known as the National Front. This agreement helped to bring some political stability to the country. [7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

One of the less positive aspects of having formed this National Front was that it closed the political system to new political forces and, as a result, many communities, particularly peasants, were excluded, giving birth to revolutionary groups and guerrillas.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jorge Eli\u00e9cer Gaitan [Source: ElTiempo.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guerrilla Insurgency<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The origin of guerrillas in Colombia is attributed, among other reasons, to socioeconomic exclusion and the lack of space for free political participation. Among the guerrillas that emerged in the middle of the 20th<\/sup> century, the most prominent in Colombia are the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), as well as the National Liberation Army (ELN), People\u2019s Liberation Army (EPL) and the April 10 Movement (M-19).<\/p>\n

Each of these groups hold leftist ideals that were formed as a result of historical circumstances and have developed particular ways of operating.<\/p>\n

In the early years, these guerrillas appeared as the result of political and socio-economic frustration, political corruption and huge social inequality.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Remote FARC camp hidden in the jungle. [Source: arsof-history.org<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most notorious guerrilla organization in the country has been the FARC-EP, which was formed in 1964 as a peasant self-defense group with Marxist-Leninist ideology. Manuel Marulanda Vel\u00e9z, aka \u201ctirofijo,\u201d initially led the guerrilla group in a territory of the Guaitania district in the department of Tolima known as the \u201cRepublic of Marquetalia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
FARC Commander Manuel Marulanda is on the left. [Source: ElP\u00e1is<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FARC promoted land reform and a socialist economy modeled after Cuba that would nationalize industries and use the revenues to finance free education and health care for the masses.<\/p>\n

Hostile to these policies, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations sent military and police advisers with experience combating the left-wing Hukbalahap in the Philippines to develop Colombia\u2019s internal security infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\"A
President Kennedy speaks with General William Yarborough at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in February 1961, just before Yarborough led Green Beret training teams in Colombia. [Source: smallwarsjournal.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the early 1960s, CIA advisers encouraged the launching of Plan Lazo and Operation Marquetelia, aggressive sweep operations directed against the FARC where the ratio of guerrillas to security forces killed was seven-to-two.[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
Press reports of Operation Marquetalia. [Source: bing.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the mid 1970s, the CIA had provided more than $7.8 million in police aid to Colombia, while many Colombian army officers were trained at the infamous U.S. Army School of the Americans (aka School of the Assassins) in advanced counter-insurgency methods.[9]<\/a><\/sup> These helped to fuel greater human rights atrocities and intensified the conflict.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Paramilitary Emergence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Paramilitaries are far-right groups that have their origin in the enactment of Law 48 of 1968, through which the Colombian State advanced the privatization of the armed struggle at the hands of civilians protected by the interests of the regional elites. The most representative group of paramilitarism in Colombia is the United Self-Defenses of Colombia (AUC).<\/p>\n

The AUC was dissolved between 2003 and 2006 as a result of a demobilization process promoted by then-President \u00c1lvaro Uribe V\u00e9lez. However, some groups not attached to the demobilization process formed what is now known as the criminal gangs (BACRIM).<\/p>\n

\"\"
AUC on patrol. [Source: ElTiempo<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Drug Trafficking<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the 1990s, Colombia became the first coca leaf producer on the planet. The participation of the FARC-EP in drug trafficking has to do with the production process of this drug.<\/p>\n

The guerrillas financed themselves from the security fee for illicit crops, the tax on laboratories, and the use of clandestine tracks.<\/p>\n

Therefore, in the midst of the armed conflict, drug trafficking has served as a means of financing for both the guerrillas and the self-defense forces.[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The drug cartels, it should be noted, have long been allied with the political right in Colombia because they oppose the FARC\u2019s political agenda, especially its promotion of land reform.<\/p>\n

The U.S. government has in turn often been highly selective in its policing of the drug trade, and at times colluded with known drug trafficking groups such as the AUC, whose founder Carlos Casta\u00f1o stated that 70 percent of the income for his group came from drugs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Carlos Casta\u00f1o [Source: telegraph.co.uk<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Casta\u00f1o was close with the powerful Henao-Montoya drug-trafficking cartel and was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2002 and charged with trafficking more than 17 tons of cocaine.[11]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
Drug eradication operations. (Source: Talkingdrugs.org<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Colombian Army<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Colombian army has been one of the main actors in the armed conflict. Colombia\u2019s so-called \u201cFalse Positives\u201d scandal saw civilians murdered by members of the army. The civilians were identified as guerrillas killed in combat in an effort to boost combat killing rates so soldiers could receive financial rewards.<\/p>\n

The scandal broke after the bodies of unidentified rebel fighters were found in different locations of Colombia and had been reported missing in Soacha, a city located south of Bogot\u00e1. Most extrajudicial killings occurred from 2002 to 2008, under former President Uribe.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Banner shaming perpetrators of \u201cFalse Positives\u201d scandal. [Source: theguardian.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. military assistance to Colombia has been criticized by human rights activists for assisting units that committed extrajudicial killings in Colombia.<\/p>\n

In 2000, when the U.S. Congress approved the multi-billion dollar assistance package to Colombia known as Plan Colombia, it established human rights conditions that must be certified by the U.S. Secretary of State as being met by the Colombian government before a certain percentage of military assistance can be released.[12]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

However, the United States spent $5.7 billion on military assistance to Colombia from 2000 to 2010.[13]<\/a><\/sup> Most of the extrajudicial killings happened from 2002 to 2008 and the U.S. played a key role in providing military training to top army officers who later led the army brigades that committed the killings.[14]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Then-General Jaime Lasprilla had the largest number of executions reportedly committed by soldiers under his brigade command, and he received substantially more U.S training than his peers, according to a report by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Colombia-Europe-USA.<\/p>\n

\"Generals
General Jaime Lasprilla, center, with General Juan Pablo Rodr\u00edguez. Both were named in a human rights report detailing the false positives scandal. [Source: english.elpais.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Plan Colombia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Plan Colombia is a bilateral agreement between the United States and Colombia, aimed at combating drug cartels and left-wing insurgent groups in the country. The plan was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000. The official objectives of the plan were to end the Colombian armed conflict by increasing funding and training of Colombian military forces and to create an anti-cocaine strategy to eradicate coca cultivation.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Andr\u00e9s Pastrana and Bill Clinton\u200a\u2014\u200aPlan Colombia. [Source: BlueRadio.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bilateral agreement has completely failed in its mission. Colombia is still the world\u2019s biggest producer of cocaine,[15]<\/a><\/sup> and Plan Colombia helped in the aerial fumigation of more than 1.4 million hectares of coca in the country.[16]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Defying
Aerial fumigation in Colombia. [Source: nytimes.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The use of controversial herbicide glyphosate in aerial fumigations has been questioned by national and international human rights organizations\u200a\u2014\u200aincluding the World Health Organization (WHO), which in 2015 said that the herbicide glyphosate might have put Colombia\u2019s population in danger because it is \u201cprobably carcinogenic.\u201d[17]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
Banner says: Plan Colombia, the Americans put up the weapons, Colombia puts up the deaths. [Source:TelesurTv.net<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. security assistance has been linked to rising human rights abuses in Colombia.<\/p>\n

After the so-called false positives scandal, a study of civilian killings by Amnesty International and Fellowship of Reconciliation, found that 47 percent of the cases reported in 2007 involved Colombian units financed by the United States.[18]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

What then is the real purpose of Plan Colombia?<\/p>\n

<\/a>U.S. Military Bases in Colombia<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
[Source: latinamericapost.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plan Colombia was just the name given to the agreement that allowed the U.S. to deploy its troops in Colombia. It was further granted access to seven military bases\u200a\u2014\u200aPalanquero, Apiay, Malaga Bay, Tolemaida, Malambo, Larandia, Cartagena\u200a\u2014\u200ain Colombia.[19]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"A
[Source: rampages.us<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colombia is a key point for the arms trade in the region due to its geographical position and is rich in natural resources such as oil, gold and carbon, among others.<\/p>\n

In 1998, just over a year before the launching of Plan Colombia, Charles Wilhelm, head of the U.S. Southern Command, told Congress that the potential of oil in Colombia had \u201cincreased the country\u2019s strategic importance.\u201d[20]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"A
Charles Wilhelm lobbying for Plan Colombia before Congress. [Source: c-span.org<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2012, the U.S. and Colombia signed a free-trade agreement\u2014at a time Colombia continued to set hemispheric records for the number of trade union activists killed<\/a>\u2014that has benefitted U.S.-based multinational corporations and agribusiness at the expense of Colombian small farmers and businesses.<\/p>\n

\"A
Colombians protest free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia. [Source: citizen.org<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It became particularly important for the U.S. to make military agreements with Colombia after the U.S. withdrawal from military bases in Panama in December 1999.[21]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The military presence of the U.S. on Colombian territory has increased tensions with Venezuela.<\/p>\n

In 2019, National Security Adviser John Bolton appeared with a notepad containing the words, \u201c5,000 troops to Colombia,\u201d which borders Venezuela. The White House said \u201call options\u201d are on the table to allegedly \u201crestore\u201d democracy to Venezuela\u2014Venezuela\u2019s president, Nicholas Maduro, has actually been elected by the Venezuelan people multiple times.[22]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"US\u2032s
John Bolton with notepad containing the words: \u201c5,000 troops to Colombia,\u201d which appeared to be a veiled threat to the socialist government in Venezuela. [Source: dw.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Colombian Peace Agreement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2016, a historic peace agreement between the Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was signed in Havana, putting an \u201cend\u201d to more than 50 years of armed conflict in Colombia.[23]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londo\u00f1o signing historic peace deal. [Source: theguardian.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In spite of the historic peace deal, violence continues relentlessly in Colombia. \u201cTwo guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have been killed in combat with security forces just four days after a new peace deal was signed to end a half century of fighting,\u201d[24]<\/a><\/sup> said The Guardian<\/em> headline four days after signing the peace agreement.<\/p>\n

Colombia is the world\u2019s most dangerous country for activists and human rights defenders, according to Global Witness and Front-Line Defenders.[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

As of 2020 more than 970 human rights defenders and social leaders have been murdered in Colombia according to the NGO documenting the assassination of social leaders in Colombia\u200a\u2014\u200aINDEPAZ.[26]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
[Source: telesurenglish.net<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Why Are Social Leaders Being Killed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With such shocking figures, it is with great pain that we have to admit, Colombia is not a country at peace. Sadly, peace is not good news, it is a bad business for the ones who benefit from war. Who is responsible for the unacceptable deaths of more than 970 social leaders assassinated during the last four years? The heirs of the FARC, the ELN, the \u201cSelf-Defense Forces of Colombia\u201d (AGC), the \u201cGulf Clan\u201d or the so-called \u201cBlack Eagles.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the frightening crime that these human beings (trade unionists, human rights defenders, afro-descendants, land defenders, indigenous people and peasants) have committed so that they are threatened and killed without any type of control? Opposing illegal mining, going against illicit crops, defending human rights, and denouncing corruption are the \u201ccrimes\u201d they have been accused of by armed groups.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Translation: For the defense of life. [Source: Agencia Anadolu<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>The Duque Government\u2019s Approach to Peace<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Iv\u00e1n Duque M\u00e1rquez, from the Democratic Center Party, won the presidential elections in Colombia on August 7, 2018.[27]<\/a><\/sup> His political party was one of the main campaigners against the 2016 peace agreement.<\/p>\n

\"Colombia's
Iv\u00e1n Duque [Source: dw.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2019, as a first step to modify the accord, Duque proposed some changes to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP is its acronym in Spanish), a transitional justice system created as a result of the 2016 peace agreement through which members of the FARC, the Military Forces of Colombia, and paramilitary groups that have been involved in the Colombian armed conflict, are investigated and put on trial.[28]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
The president of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Patricia Linares (left), the president of the review section of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Jes\u00fas \u00c1ngel Bobadilla (center) and the member of the review section of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Ana Caterina Heyck (right), during a press conference at the building of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, on May 15, 2019. [Source: Agencia Anadolu<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. Ambassador Kevin Whitaker publicly supported Duque\u2019s objections, and reportedly tried to pressure members of Congress to vote in favor of these\u2014in a blatant example of U.S. political meddling in Colombian internal affairs.[29]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"A
Kevin Whitaker [Source: colombiareports.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Duque\u2019s six objections to the JEP could have substantially weakened the implementation of the Peace Agreement and potentially led the country back to war.<\/p>\n

The reason Duque is advocating for the elimination of the JEP is because his political mentor, and head of political party, \u00c1lvaro Uribe V\u00e9lez, has been accused by jailed Colombian paramilitary chief Pablo Hernan Sierra of sponsoring the illegal militias responsible for most killings in Colombia\u2019s long-running conflict.<\/p>\n

The increasing number of \u201cfalse positives\u201d cases between 2002 and 2008 coincided with an incentives program created by the Uribe administration that incentivized combat kills with vacations, promotions, and military training abroad.[30]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Qui\u00e9n
[Source: las2orillas.co<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, a confidential report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had Uribe, then a Senator, listed alongside Pablo Escobar as among the most important Colombian narco-traffickers.[31]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
Confidential report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Uribe. [Source: nsarchive2.gwu.edu<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Uncle Sam: An Ally for Peace?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The U.S has supplied Colombia\u2019s security forces with military training, intelligence and equipment going back to the 1960s. The aid has cost the U.S. more than $7 billion, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and Colombia has become one of its major weapons buyers in the region.[32]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"
[Source: Smallwarsjournal.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colombia\u2019s military expenditures were the highest in the Latin American region in 2017 and 2018, according to the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).[33]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Colombia plays a key role in the military industry. The countries from which it buys weapons\u200a\u2014\u200apredominantly the United States\u2014 would be greatly affected if peace were achieved in Colombia, as profits would go down for the \u201cmerchants of death.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S is undermining Colombia\u2019s peace process through its War on Drugs. On November 8, 2020, the Colombian newspaper El Espectador <\/em>exposed more than 24,000 audio recordings of a joint operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Colombian Attorney General\u2019s office to entrap Iv\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez, chief of the FARC\u2019s peace negotiating team in Havana, and Jes\u00fas Santrich, also a member of FARC\u2019s peace negotiating team and a sitting member of Congress for the FARC party.[34]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Chief
Iv\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez in Havana, chief of the FARC\u2019s peace negotiating team in Havana. [Source: as.coa.org<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Undercover DEA agents posed as members of the Sinaloa Cartel with connections to Rafael Caro Quintero. The undercover agents approached Marlon Mar\u00edn, Iv\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez\u2019s nephew, with the aim of establishing contact with M\u00e1rquez and Santrich.<\/p>\n

\"\"
[Source: auburnexaminer.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The agents were eventually able to get a meeting with J\u00e9sus Santrich,[35]<\/a><\/sup> a blind former FARC guerrilla, under the pretext that they were going to publish his book of poetry in Mexico.<\/p>\n

The DEA agents then got him to agree to send over books in a meeting secretly recorded on camera by the two undercover agents and, together with the attorney general\u2019s office, have tried to use this manufactured evidence to frame Santrich for drug trafficking and extradite him to the U.S. by claiming that he was referring to cocaine, not books.<\/p>\n

\"A
A defiant Santrich. [Source: ft.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The attacks on Santrich over the DEA-recorded video, coupled with the U.S. government\u2019s insistence on extradition, eventually led both Santrich and M\u00e1rquez to leave Congress and return to arms under the name FARC-Second Marquetalia.[36]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

This operation shows that the U.S. cannot be trusted as a peace ally for Colombia. On the contrary, the U.S. will ensure Colombia remains at war so that Bogot\u00e1 continues to buy weapons, increase military expenditures, and allow the permanence of U.S. military personnel in the seven major bases of Colombia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>Joe Biden\u2014A New Hope for Colombia?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
[Source: dw.com<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cClarifying murders of social leaders in Colombia is one of the \u2018highest priorities\u2019 for Joe Biden,\u201d said the spokesman for the United States Department of State, Edward Price, after reviewing the last report from Human Rights Watch.[37]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

While many are hopeful that the Biden administration will support the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia, one has to realize who Joe Biden is and judge him according to his actions instead of his words.<\/p>\n

Biden, as a CAM exclusive series on his background showed<\/a>, was a key figure in the Senate promoting Plan Colombia<\/a>, and staunch advocate for sustaining high levels of military assistance to the Colombian government.<\/p>\n

On the campaign trail in 2020, he referred to Colombia as a \u201ckeystone of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America<\/a>, and then invited a representative of Venezuelan renegade president Juan Guaid\u00f3 to his inauguration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A
Then-Vice President Biden and his wife Jill at a ceremony in Bogot\u00e1 honoring Colombian soldiers. (May 26, 2013). [Source:\u00a0cancilleria.gov.co<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same Biden administration that seemed so \u201cconcerned\u201d about the killing of social leaders and the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia was the one that authorized the bombing of Syria on Thursday, February 25, 2021, killing at least 22 people, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[38]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The same Joe Biden voted in October 2002 for the Iraq War that killed thousands of people and brought hell to the Middle East.[39]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

If Colombia wants to get nearer to peace, it should request the end of Plan Colombia and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from its military bases. If the United States and those involved in the military-industrial complex would take their hands off Colombia, perhaps one day we will see peace.<\/p>\n

NOTES:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
    \n
  1. \u201cColombia peace deal: Government and FARC reach new agreement,\u201d BBC News, <\/em>November 13, 2016, https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-37965392<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Alexander L Fattal, \u201cViolence and killings haven\u2019t stopped in Colombia despite landmark peace deal,\u201d The conversation, <\/em>February 6, <\/em>2019, https:\/\/theconversation.com\/violence-and-killings-havent-stopped-in-colombia-despite-landmark-peace-deal-111232<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Julie Turkewitz and Sofia Villamil, \u201cChildren Trapped in Crossfire as War Drags on in Colombia,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, March 27, 2021, A1. \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Ibid<\/em>. Defense Minister Diego Molano blamed the rebels for the deaths, pointing out that they were the ones turning adolescents into government targets by converting them into \u201cmachines of war.\u201d \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Francesco Manetto, \u201cThe shots that split the history of Colombia in two,\u201d El Pa\u00eds, <\/em>April 9, 2018 (Spanish), https:\/\/elpais.com\/internacional\/2018\/04\/08\/colombia\/1523216245_924526.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. World Peace Foundation, \u201cColombia: La violencia,\u201d Mass Atrocity Endings, <\/em>December 14, 2016, https:\/\/sites.tufts.edu\/atrocityendings\/2016\/12\/14\/colombia-la-violencia-2\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. \u201cLa Violencia, dictatorship, and democratic restoration,\u201d Britannica,<\/em> https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Colombia\/La-Violencia-dictatorship-and-democratic-restoration#ref19017<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. See Jeremy Kuzmarov, Modernizing Repression: Police Training and Nation Building in the American Century<\/em> (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012), 212, 213. \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Kuzmarov, Modernizing Repression, <\/em>213; Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, School of Assassins<\/em>, foreword by Roy Bourgeois (New York: Orbis Books, 2001). \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. \u201cTerrorismo, narcotr\u00e1fico y conflicto en el caso colombiano,\u201d Dialnet<\/em>, https:\/\/dialnet.unirioja.es\/servlet\/articulo?codigo=1977933<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  11. Jeremy Kuzmarov, \u201cThe Forgotten Story of How Joe Biden Helped Ramp Up the War on Drugs in Colombia,\u201d CovertAction Magazine<\/em>, January 11, 2021, https:\/\/covertactionmagazine.com\/2021\/01\/11\/exclusive-series-bidens-foreign-policy-history-and-what-it-portends-for-his-presidency\/ \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  12. \u201cAssisting Units that Commit Extrajudicial Killings: A Call to Investigate US Military Policy toward Colombia,\u201d Amnesty,<\/em> https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/download\/Documents\/52000\/amr230162008eng.pdf<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  13. John Lindsay-Poland, \u201c\u2018Guerrillas Killed in Combat\u2019 and the Colombian Military\u2019s Persistent Impunity,\u201d NACLA,<\/em> https:\/\/nacla.org\/article\/guerrillas-killed-combat-and-colombian-military%27s-persistent-impunity<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  14. \u201cColombia\u2019s top army officers \u2018knew of extrajudicial killings,\u2019\u201d BBC,<\/em> https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-33253853<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  15. \u201cColombia sets new record in eradicating coca production,\u201d France<\/em> 24,<\/em> https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20201231-colombia-sets-new-record-in-eradicating-coca-production<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  16. \u201cThe Costs of Restarting Aerial Coca Spraying in Colombia,\u201d WOLA,<\/em> https:\/\/www.wola.org\/analysis\/costs-restarting-aerial-spraying-coca-colombia\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  17. \u201cIARC Monograph on Glyphosate,\u201d World Health Organization,<\/em> https:\/\/www.iarc.who.int\/featured-news\/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  18. Simon Romero, \u201cColombia Lists Civilian Killings in Guerrilla Toll,\u201d New York Times,<\/em>https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/10\/30\/world\/americas\/30colombia.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  19. \u201cColombia: US military presence\u2019s repercussions,\u201d LatinAmerican Post<\/em>, https:\/\/latinamericanpost.com\/26186-colombia-us-military-presences-repercussions<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  20. Vijay Prashad, Fat Cats and Running Dogs: The Enron Stage of Capitalism<\/em> (Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 2003), 169. \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  21. \u201cU.S. Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean,\u201d Institute for Policy Studies,<\/em> https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/us_military_bases_in_latin_america_and_the_caribbean\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  22. \u201cUS\u2019s Bolton appears to threaten Venezuela with: \u20185.000 troops to Colombia,\u201d Deutsche Welle<\/em>, https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/uss-bolton-appears-to-threaten-venezuela-with-5000-troops-to-colombia\/a-47274634<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  23. \u201cColombia signs historic peace deal with Farc,\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/nov\/24\/colombia-signs-historic-peace-deal-with-farc-rebels<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  24. \u201cFarc guerrillas killed in combat days after new peace deal with government,\u201d The Guardian<\/em>, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/nov\/16\/colombia-farc-new-peace-deal-rebels-killed<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  25. Rodrigo Sales, \u201cWe must protect those defending the land and environment in Colombia,\u201d Amnesty International,<\/em>https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2020\/10\/debemos-proteger-quienes-defienden-tierra-ambiente-colombia\/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20most%20recent,in%20peace%20in%20their%20home<\/a>; Jos\u00e9 Fajardo, \u201cColombia is the deadliest country for human rights defenders, with one activist killed every three days since the 2016 peace agreement,\u201d Equal Times,<\/em> https:\/\/www.equaltimes.org\/colombia-is-the-deadliest-country?lang=es#.YEmXoehKjDc<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  26. \u201cIndepaz: en Colombia 971 l\u00edderes han sido asesinados desde la firma del Acuerdo de Paz,\u201d Agencia Anadolu,<\/em>https:\/\/www.aa.com.tr\/es\/mundo\/indepaz-en-colombia-971-l\u00edderes-han-sido-asesinados-desde-la-firma-del-acuerdo-de-paz\/1924456<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  27. \u201cIv\u00e1n Duque: Colombia\u2019s new president sworn into office,\u201d BBC,<\/em> https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-45107063<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  28. \u201cJurisdicci\u00f3n Especial para la Paz,\u201d JEP,<\/em> https:\/\/www.jep.gov.co\/JEP\/Paginas\/Jurisdiccion-Especial-para-la-Paz.aspx<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  29. \u201cUS Ambassador lobbying against peace process,\u201d Justice for Colombia<\/em>, https:\/\/justiceforcolombia.org\/news\/us-ambassador-lobbying-against-peace-process\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  30. \u201cAlvaro Uribe accused of paramilitary ties,\u201d The Guardian,<\/em> https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2011\/sep\/08\/alvaro-uribe-accused-paramilitary-ties<\/a>; \u201cColombian army \u2018false positives\u2019 scandal: \u2018No one listened to us\u2019\u201d Aljazeera,<\/em> https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/2\/23\/colombian-army-scandal-no-one-listened-to-us<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  31. \u201cU.S Intelligence listed Colombian President Uribe among \u2018important Colombian narco-traffickers\u2019 in 1991,\u201d The National Security Archive,<\/em> https:\/\/nsarchive2.gwu.edu\/NSAEBB\/NSAEBB131\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  32. \u201cU.S Arms Clients profiles-Colombia,\u201d Federation of American Scientists, https:\/\/fas.org\/asmp\/profiles\/colombia.htm<\/a>; \u201cColombia\u2019s military emerges as a global player in US-led alliance,\u201d Colombia Reports,<\/em> https:\/\/colombiareports.com\/colombias-military-emerges-as-a-global-player-in-us-led-alliance\/<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  33. \u201cColombia: Pa\u00eds de Sur\u00e1merica con mayor PIB en gasto m\u00edlitar,\u201d Agencia Anadolu,<\/em> https:\/\/www.aa.com.tr\/es\/mundo\/colombia-el-pa\u00eds-suramericano-con-m\u00e1s-porcentaje-del-pib-en-gasto-militar-\/1135306<\/a>; \u201cEl gasto militar de Colombia es el m\u00e1s alto de la regi\u00f3n, supera los US$10.000 millones,\u201d La Rep\u00fabica,<\/em> https:\/\/www.larepublica.co\/globoeconomia\/el-gasto-militar-de-colombia-es-el-mas-alto-de-la-region-supera-los-us10000-millones-2905034#:~:text=Comercio-,El%20gasto%20militar%20de%20Colombia%20es%20el%20m%C3%A1s%20alto%20de,supera%20los%20US%2410.000%20millones&text=EE.,alrededor%20del%20mundo%20durante%202018<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  34. \u201cLos audios de la DEA y la fiscalia que se le negaron a la JEP sobre el caso \u2018Santrich,\u2019\u201d El Espectador,<\/em> https:\/\/www.elespectador.com\/noticias\/investigacion\/los-audios-de-la-dea-y-la-fiscalia-que-le-negaron-a-la-jep-sobre-el-caso-santrich\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  35. \u201cPetro explica c\u00f3mo habr\u00edan manipulado video de \u2018Santrich\u2019 y el negocio de cargamento de coca,\u201d Blue Radio,<\/em> https:\/\/www.bluradio.com\/nacion\/petro-explica-como-habrian-manipulado-video-en-el-que-santrich-negocia-cargamento-de-coca<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  36. \u201cColombia ex-Farc rebel Iv\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez issues call to arms,\u201d BBC,<\/em> https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-49508411<\/a>; Cruz Bonlarron Mart\u00ednez and Evan King, \u201cHow the U.S. Is Quitely Undermining Colombia\u2019s Fragile Peace Process,\u201d In These Times,<\/em> https:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/article\/colombia-war-on-drugs-peace-process-trump-biden-dea<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  37. \u201cEstados Unidos pide a Iv\u00e1n Duque aclarar asesinatos de l\u00edderes sociales,\u201d Deutsche Welle, https:\/\/www.dw.com\/es\/estados-unidos-pide-a-iv\u00e1n-duque-aclarar-asesinatos-de-l\u00edderes-sociales\/a-56542882<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  38. \u201cBiden orders airstrikes in Syria, retaliating against Iran-backed militias,\u201d NBC News<\/em>, https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/biden-airstrikes-syria-retaliating-against-iran-backed-militias-n1258912<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
  39. \u201cJoe Biden\u2019s Vote for War,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/12\/us\/politics\/joe-biden-iraq-war.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    _____________________________________________________<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    \"\"<\/a>Angelo Cardona is a Colombian human rights defender, peace and disarmament activist. He is co-founder and President of the Ibero-American Alliance for Peace, Vice President of Humanity United for Universal Demilitarization, Representative of Latin America in the Council of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau, member of the Advisory Board of World Beyond War, and leader of Youth Against NATO. In 2019, his work for peace and disarmament\u00a0earned him the Inspirational Icon Award at the 21st<\/sup> Century Icon Awards in London, England. He can be reached at: angelo.cardona@alianzaibero.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Go to Original – covertactionmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    16 Apr 2021 – Colombia has been living with one of the longest armed conflicts in the world. A peace agreement to end the more than 50-year-old armed civil war was signed in Havana, Cuba, in 2016. Despite this historic event, violence continues in the country relentlessly. Washington has long helped fuel the devastating conflict that goes back to the era of La Violencia in World War II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":183251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[867,2479,1661,680,530,135,1662,541,780,70,92,1892],"class_list":["post-183247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-and-the-caribbean","tag-anglo-america","tag-civil-war","tag-colombia","tag-conflict-resolution","tag-cuba","tag-drugs","tag-farc","tag-latin-america-caribbean","tag-military-intervention","tag-usa","tag-violent-conflict","tag-war-on-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}