Colombia: the peace process or the conflict of drug cartels
In the course of the peace talks with the Colombian government in Havana, the delegation of the ultra-left Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - the People’s Army (FARC-EP) expressed outrage at the lawlessness that the ultra-right armed formations are repairing in the country. These groups are not part of the FARC-EP, do not obey anyone, refuse to dialogue with the authorities, reports Prensa Latina. And basically they are fragments of the so-called. United Colombian Self-Defense Forces operating in the country from 1997 to 2006 year, involved in organized crime and drug trafficking.
Note that the Colombian Combined Self-Defense Forces are in traditional conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). And not only in the sphere of political disagreements, but also in the struggle for control over drug trafficking. Namely, the Combined Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, in close cooperation with the security forces of Colombia, played a decisive role in defeating the “empire” of the drug lord Pablo Escobar - the Medellin cartel. In the middle of 2000, the ultra-left Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - the People’s Army and the ultra-right Joint Colombian Self-Defense Forces attempted to make a pact about joint resistance to the country's authorities. But they could not agree. By 2006, the leaders of the overgrown and strengthened influence of the United Self-Defense Forces were mostly killed or sent to prison. The organization itself has been declared terrorist, but its remnants are still in effect, terrorizing the civilian population of Colombia.
As for the population of Colombia, it does not see a big difference in the activities of right-wing and ultra-leftists. This is how Colombian journalist Juan Torres commented on the Regnum news agency earlier on the situation: “The civilian population of Colombia doesn’t have a very negative attitude towards FARC activities, but simply hates them. Hiding behind revolutionary ideas, these people are engaged in robbery and violence. In almost every Colombian family there are dead and injured by the actions of members of the FARC. But they are influential and have a huge financial resource, based on the proceeds from drug trafficking. ” Nevertheless, at the negotiations in Havana, representatives of the FARC-EP insist that the blame for the violence against the population of the country rests entirely with their opponents - the combined forces of self-defense of Colombia.
There is no doubt that the arbitrariness of illegal armed groups over the civilian population in Colombia has indeed become disastrous. According to the United Nations, only in the first quarter of 2015, in Colombia, were 25 public leaders killed and more than a hundred members of the Patriotic March, according to Diario El Pais. Recall that the Patriotic March is a left-wing movement that originated in 2012. It brings together 1700 organizations. This movement includes the Communist Party of Colombia. And a number of experts call Colombia a country with the highest level of violence in the world.
At the talks in Havana, FARC-EP representatives cited the following figures from their “own investigation”: during the current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon’s rule, that is, from 2010 of the year, thousands of attacks on human rights defenders were registered, 762 of them were killed. And since the beginning of the peace negotiation process in Havana (since 283), these figures have increased by 2012%. Moreover, not only politicians and public figures, but also the leaders of indigenous peoples and farmers are being attacked and murdered - such data are contained in the investigation that the FARC-EP conducted, commented Correo del Sur. The object of persecution from ultra-right armed groups are also leaders of professional organizations. A year ago, an organized criminal group calling itself the United Urban Group Rastrojos (“Young Growth”) and Black Eagles (“Black Eagles”) sentenced to death the leaders of the trade unions of Sintracarbón, Sintrabienestar and Sindese, claiming that they were allegedly members of partisan groups.
Representatives of the FARC-EP stated during the peace negotiations with the Colombian authorities in Havana that they were not guilty of these crimes, but illegal military formations, first of all fragments of the united Colombian self-defense forces, which number more than 80. Among them were the “Black Eagles”, “Red Footprint”, “Earpak and Usuga”. Negotiators from the FARC-EP appealed to the authorities of Colombia with a special statement, in which they called for finding mechanisms for the elimination of these groups. Representatives of the FARC-EP note: “Everyone in Colombia knows that these paramilitary groups are a serious and dangerous reality in our country, and without their disappearance there can be no effective and lasting peace. The reluctance of the authorities to work effectively in this regard can only be regarded as a reluctance to build a world for Colombian society, ”reports Prensa Latina.
However, it is not yet clear what is more in the demands put forward - sincere concern for the welfare and peace of Colombian society, or the leaders of FARC -EP decided to start a bargaining with the Colombian authorities. And remove with their help competitors, including in the drug business. As it was done in due time with the Medellín cartel, the Combined Self-Defense Forces of Colombia cleared the way for another drug cartel, “Gentlemen of Kali.”
Note that the Colombian Combined Self-Defense Forces are in traditional conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). And not only in the sphere of political disagreements, but also in the struggle for control over drug trafficking. Namely, the Combined Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, in close cooperation with the security forces of Colombia, played a decisive role in defeating the “empire” of the drug lord Pablo Escobar - the Medellin cartel. In the middle of 2000, the ultra-left Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - the People’s Army and the ultra-right Joint Colombian Self-Defense Forces attempted to make a pact about joint resistance to the country's authorities. But they could not agree. By 2006, the leaders of the overgrown and strengthened influence of the United Self-Defense Forces were mostly killed or sent to prison. The organization itself has been declared terrorist, but its remnants are still in effect, terrorizing the civilian population of Colombia.
As for the population of Colombia, it does not see a big difference in the activities of right-wing and ultra-leftists. This is how Colombian journalist Juan Torres commented on the Regnum news agency earlier on the situation: “The civilian population of Colombia doesn’t have a very negative attitude towards FARC activities, but simply hates them. Hiding behind revolutionary ideas, these people are engaged in robbery and violence. In almost every Colombian family there are dead and injured by the actions of members of the FARC. But they are influential and have a huge financial resource, based on the proceeds from drug trafficking. ” Nevertheless, at the negotiations in Havana, representatives of the FARC-EP insist that the blame for the violence against the population of the country rests entirely with their opponents - the combined forces of self-defense of Colombia.
There is no doubt that the arbitrariness of illegal armed groups over the civilian population in Colombia has indeed become disastrous. According to the United Nations, only in the first quarter of 2015, in Colombia, were 25 public leaders killed and more than a hundred members of the Patriotic March, according to Diario El Pais. Recall that the Patriotic March is a left-wing movement that originated in 2012. It brings together 1700 organizations. This movement includes the Communist Party of Colombia. And a number of experts call Colombia a country with the highest level of violence in the world.
At the talks in Havana, FARC-EP representatives cited the following figures from their “own investigation”: during the current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon’s rule, that is, from 2010 of the year, thousands of attacks on human rights defenders were registered, 762 of them were killed. And since the beginning of the peace negotiation process in Havana (since 283), these figures have increased by 2012%. Moreover, not only politicians and public figures, but also the leaders of indigenous peoples and farmers are being attacked and murdered - such data are contained in the investigation that the FARC-EP conducted, commented Correo del Sur. The object of persecution from ultra-right armed groups are also leaders of professional organizations. A year ago, an organized criminal group calling itself the United Urban Group Rastrojos (“Young Growth”) and Black Eagles (“Black Eagles”) sentenced to death the leaders of the trade unions of Sintracarbón, Sintrabienestar and Sindese, claiming that they were allegedly members of partisan groups.
Representatives of the FARC-EP stated during the peace negotiations with the Colombian authorities in Havana that they were not guilty of these crimes, but illegal military formations, first of all fragments of the united Colombian self-defense forces, which number more than 80. Among them were the “Black Eagles”, “Red Footprint”, “Earpak and Usuga”. Negotiators from the FARC-EP appealed to the authorities of Colombia with a special statement, in which they called for finding mechanisms for the elimination of these groups. Representatives of the FARC-EP note: “Everyone in Colombia knows that these paramilitary groups are a serious and dangerous reality in our country, and without their disappearance there can be no effective and lasting peace. The reluctance of the authorities to work effectively in this regard can only be regarded as a reluctance to build a world for Colombian society, ”reports Prensa Latina.
However, it is not yet clear what is more in the demands put forward - sincere concern for the welfare and peace of Colombian society, or the leaders of FARC -EP decided to start a bargaining with the Colombian authorities. And remove with their help competitors, including in the drug business. As it was done in due time with the Medellín cartel, the Combined Self-Defense Forces of Colombia cleared the way for another drug cartel, “Gentlemen of Kali.”
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