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Colombia's Troubled Past

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Colombia's Troubled Past Colombia’s Troubled Past by Troy J. Sacquety Named for Christopher Columbus, though territories that make up the modern day states of Ven- he never set foot there, Colombia is a land long wracked ezuela and Ecuador broke away from Gran Columbia. by internal conflict, banditry, and insurgent warfare. It After a series of minor internal clashes in the nine- has been called a “nation in spite of itself.”1 The United teenth century, the country underwent two major civil States has been involved in Colombian affairs since the wars in the twentieth. Both were caused by differences turn of the last century. The relationship morphed from between the two primary political factions, the Liberals being an obstacle to U.S. government policy—when the and the Conservatives. These wars were the War of a government thwarted U.S. plans to build a canal through Thousand Days and La Violencia (The Violence). the Colombian province of Panama—to becoming an La Violencia (1948–1966) claimed somewhere between asset during the Korean War. The Colombia of today is 100,000 and 250,000 lives and ranks as one of the bloodiest an important American partner in the Global War on wars in the Western Hemisphere.2 This period of domes- Terror and in its war on drugs. To understand Colombia, tic turmoil set the tone for Colombia for the remainder of and U.S. policy involved, one must know a little about the twentieth century and has carried forward into the its history. Then, the current situation can be placed in new century. Prior to La Violencia, there were underly- context. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief ing political and economic tensions between all classes historical overview. of Colombian society, but especially so with the peas- Although long inhabited by ants. Between 1946 and 1947, native groups, the first perma- the working class staged more nent European settlement in than 600 demonstrations and Colombia was in 1525. To put organized strikes.3 In May 1947, this into perspective, James- violence broke out a when some town, Virginia—the first perma- 1,500 striking workers were nent English settlement in what arrested. When government is now the United States—was troops moved in to repress the founded eighty-two years later agitators, 14,000 were killed in in 1607. Colombia’s capital city the subsequent confrontation.4 of Bogotá was founded in 1538. However, the main escalation Independence from Spain was in La Violencia occurred after Lib- proclaimed in 1813, although it eral leader Jorgé Eliecer Gaitan took several years of bitter fight- was assassinated on 7 February ing for this to become reality. In 1948. Gaitan was a populist with Simón Bolivar, “The 1822, the United States was one of strong support among union The 7 February 1948 Liberator,” led the the first nations to recognize the members and the lower classes. assassination of popular army that wrested new state of “Gran Colombia,” After his murder, large segments Liberal leader Jorgé Colombia from Spanish made up of the modern coun- of the urban population filled Eliecer Gaitan prompted control. He was also tries of Colombia, Ecuador, Pan- the streets in protest. A mas- the Bogotazo, two-days the first president of ama, and Venezuela, and parts sive rebellion, referred to as the of riots in Bogotá. His the Republic of Gran of neighboring Brazil, Guyana, Bogotazo, broke out in the capital. assassination also Colombia, made up of signaled the start of La and Peru. Eight years later, the Then it spread into the provinc- modern-day Colombia, Violencia, Colombia’s Ecuador, Panama, and bloody eighteen-year Venezuela. civil war. 8 Veritas Arctic Ocean Greenland Canada 1899–1903: The War of a es, where the Conservatives had already formed Thousand Days and the armed groups to handle the insurrectionists. The Conservative-led government action forced Panama Canal much of the rural opposition to flee their homes. Many armed themselves and formed bands for Colombia’s first twentieth century civil war was fought self-defense. Several of these early bands adopt- between the Conservatives and the Liberals. Both parties repre- ed tenets of communist and socialist philosophy. sented the interests of elites and had only minor differences. The They became the basis for some of today’s insur- Liberal Party was composed primarily of small coffee plantation gent groups.5 owners and merchants of the upper middle class who favored In 1957, former President Alberto Lleras Camar- decreased government control over go effected a power-sharing agreement between the economy and greater decentral- United States A t l a n t i c the Liberals and the Conservatives. This arrange- ization of government. The Conser- O c e a n ment, called the National Front, alternated the vatives, led by large landowners, Cuba presidency between the two leading parties every advocated a strong central gov- four-years for the next sixteen years. The National ernment. The Conservatives were Mexico Belize Honduras Front also dramatically changed how the armed heavily influenced by the Catholic Guatemala El Salvador Nicaragua forces in Colombia operated. For the first time, Church which, in addition to its Costa Rica Venezuela the police, who had largely been responsible for religious nature, was also a power- Guyana Panama P a c i f i c Colombia SurinameFrench fighting the insurgent groups, were placed under ful financial institution. The Con- O c e a n Guiana the control of the Ministry of Defense. This meant servatives had gained power and Ecuador that the Army, that had the mission of territorial excluded the Liberals from gov- Brazil Peru defense, and which had managed to stay out of ernment. Their poor fiscal policies internal conflicts, was given the authority and caused high inflation and a destabi- 6 mission to pacify the troubled areas. lized economy. Compounded with low coffee prices, the LiberalsBolivia However, the National Front was a pact only resorted to arms to overthrow the government. After suffering between mainstream Liberals and Conservatives. setbacks fighting conventionally, the Liberals changed tactics. Paraguay Communist and socialist groups and radical Lib- Establishing the modus operandi still prevalent in Colombia today,Chile erals had no representation in government. This the Liberals waged a highly destructive unconventional war in condition provoked a return to violence. The civil the rural areas.1 After two years, with both sides weary of the war, Uruguay war moved into an “unofficial” second phase that the Liberals accepted Conservative peace overtures. The final continued until 1966. Another 18,000 people were number of dead was estimated at 100,000.2 But, more importantArgentina- killed during this period.7 ly, the war left the government of Colombia impotent. When the American military assistance to Colombia start- United States supported isthmian separatists in 1903, the Bogo- ed during La Violencia. In 1948, the United States, tá government was unable to prevent Panama’s secession from Colombia, and the majority of Latin American Colombia. The U.S. immediately recognized the new government states signed the Charter of the Organization of of Panama. Both countries then negotiated a treaty that allowed American States (OAS).8 The OAS charter included the United States exclusive rights to build the Panama Canal.3 a mutual defense–assistance protocol. It would be the Korean War that prompted Bogotá to request 1 David Bushnell, The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 150. training for Colombian military officers in the 2 “Background Note: Colombia,” U.S. Department of State; October 2006, www.state.gov/ United States, and material assistance. Colombia r/pa/ei/bgn/35754.htm; Geoff Simons, Colombia: A Brutal History (London: Saqi Books, was the only Latin American country to offer 2004), 151. armed forces to the UN after the North Koreans 3 Frank Safford and Marco Placios, Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 247–51. invaded the South. In Korea, Colombian Army officers gained valuable experience that they later applied in counter-insurgency operations. By 1955, the first Colombian officers had gradu- ated from the U.S. Army Parachute and Ranger Schools at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1962, a U.S. Army Special Forces contingent led by Brigadier General William Yarborough came to Colombia on the invitation of President Camargo to make recommendations on how to fight the insurgency.9 Many of these ideas were adopted by the Colom- bian military and incorporated in Plan Lazo, the first national strategy to restore law and order to the countryside.10 The United States contracted to start work on the Pan- In 1964, the Colombian Army attacked the ama Canal in 1904, and it was opened ten years later. The project cost nearly $375 million at the time and 5,609 lives due to illness and construction accidents. Vol. 2 No. 4 rural enclave of Marquetalia. There, communist and Lib- lomatic personnel and civilian guests. After being held eral forces had set up an “independent republic” where captive for weeks, the hostages were released unharmed they had originally gathered to weather La Violencia. in exchange for a sum of money, transportation, and the Although the Colombian Army employed new weap- unhindered escape of the kidnappers to Cuba. ons in the assault, including jet fighters and helicopters, By the mid 1980s, M-19 was Colombia’s second largest most of the rebels escaped the government cordon and insurgent group, behind the FARC. Desperate for fund- fled into the surrounding jungles. The attack at Marqu- ing, M-19 tried to emulate the etalia drove the disparate groups of radical Liberals and FARC, which was profiting from communists to join together under the leadership of a the drug trade.
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