Colombia

• 
• SOURCE: London Review of Books
  10/13/2022
  

  Understanding Colombia's Truth Commission Report after 60 Years of Civil Conflict

  by Rachel Nolan

  Colombia's armed conflict between government forces, leftist rebels, and paramilitary death squads is the world's longest continuous conflict. The nation's massive Truth Commission report undermines decades of official government narrative about the apportionment of blame for atrocities. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/7/2022
  

  New Colombian Leadership Means it's Time for the US to End the Disastrous Drug War

  by Christy Thornton

  The US has taken steps to pull back from the domestic war on drugs. But the violent, repressive and expensive campaign to fund militarized drug interdiction in Latin America has carried on uninterrupted, fueling political violence abroad and fentanyl overdoses at home. 

• 
• 7/8/2022
  

  The Rising "Pink Tide" in Latin America Shows the Need for US Policy to Adapt

  by Aileen T. Teague

  Colombia has historically been a conservative firewall in Latin America, anchoring American policy on the hemispheric drug war and development policy. The election of that nation's first leftist leader, along with the rise of Chinese influence, signals the need for American policy to change. 

• 
• SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations
  10/3/2021
  

  A Timeline of US-Colombia Relations Shows Influence of Cold War, War on Drugs

  Over the two centuries since Colombia’s independence, the relationship between Washington and Bogota has evolved into a close economic and security partnership. But it has at times been strained by U.S. intervention, Cold War geopolitics, and the war on drugs.

• 
• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  6/8/2021
  

  The U.S. War On Drugs Helped Unleash The Violence In Colombia Today

  by Kyle Longley

  Counternarcotics operations have been a pretext for funding a buildup of the Colombian security forces, allowing a US-friendly rightist government to avoid dealing with the economic and social causes of unrest. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/11/2021
  

  Invasion of the Hippos: Colombia is Running Out of Time to Tackle Pablo Escobar’s Wildest Legacy

  Colombian officials failed to castrate the large and potentially dangerous animals when their numbers were small. Now the country faces a potential invasive species calamity. 

• 
• SOURCE: Associated Press
  8/31/2020
  

  US Cables: Colombia’s Ex-President Suspected Of Militia Ties

  The National Security Archive has publicized documents from the George W. Bush administration which show the US government was well aware of ties between Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and right-wing paramilitary groups that the US had identified as terrorist groups. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/24/19
  

  Colombia’s conflict spills over to museum of memory

  “What’s at stake is potentially losing the opportunity for the museum to be another instrument through which to build peace in Colombia,” said Rafael Tamayo, an academic who until recently served as the museum’s leader.

• 
• SOURCE: National Security Archive
  12/21/2018
  

  Banana Officials Accused of Crimes Against Humanity in Colombia

  Banana executives with Chiquita Brands now the subject of a major criminal investigation in Colombia were instrumental in the development and execution of company policies surrounding secret payments to Colombian guerrilla and paramilitary groups

• 
• SOURCE: National Security Archive
  5/25/18
  

  Colombia's former president linked to Medellín drug cartel

  A Colombian senator told the U.S. Embassy in 1993 that the founders of the Medellín drug cartel “financed” the election campaign of then-senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez, according to documents posted by the National Security Archive.

• 
• SOURCE: WaPo
  10-1-16
  

  Here’s the century-long history behind Colombia’s peace agreement with the FARC

  A central concern is the creation of “independent republics,” which critics of the peace deal claim the FARC will now establish.

• 
• SOURCE: The Nation
  10-27-15
  

  Ending Colombia’s 100-Year War

  by Greg Grandin

  Peace talks, nudged along by Cuba and the Vatican, might finally bring an end to the hemisphere’s longest-running civil war.

• 
• 5-25-14
  

  Why Colombian Peasants Are Again in Revolt -- And What's Different this Time

  by Jason McGraw

  Juan Valdez is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore.

• 
• SOURCE: The Guardian
  12-20-13
  

  Teaching Niall Ferguson a (Colombian) History Lesson

  by David Hill

  The Nukak indigenous people have suffered appallingly since first sustained contact, despite claims made by Ferguson.