Category: South America

The armed clashes between the conflicting parties are still at the expense of the civilian population. This has left deep wounds in Colombian society. For example, the paramilitary groups hired by the Colombian landowners, who cynically refer to themselves as “United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia” (AUC: Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia), were primarily responsible for the displacement of the rural population in the millions. These not only fight FARC and ELN, but also terrorize the rural civilian population, who they accuse of cooperating with FARC and the ELN. The AUC, whose members are largely recruited from the drug mafia and, like their opponents, finance themselves through drug deals, partly cooperate with the state security and armed forces. The 2006 “Parapolítica” scandal revealed the extremely close ties between criminal paramilitaries, politics and business. Important decision-making bodies in politics, the military and business are considered to have been infiltrated by paramilitaries.

The third major party to the conflict is the Colombian state, which is widely supported by the United States. Colombia receives military aid, personnel support and arms deliveries in the billions. The map shows the active role of the US in the conflict through military bases and military operations originating from them. The declared aim is to use it to combat drug cultivation and drug cartels in particular – because the main target of drug trafficking is North America. For more information about the continent of South America, please check mathgeneral.com.