The Cold War Roots of Colombia’s Paramilitary Death Squads
The emergence of bloodthirsty right-wing paramilitary death squads in Colombia is often attributed to the rise of powerful vertically integrated cocaine cartels during the early 1980s. That interpretation, however, overlooks the deeper forces behind their emergence in a country shaped by decades of conflict and the world's longest-running multi-party low-intensity asymmetric war. Colombia's…
The roots of Colombia's notorious paramilitary death squads can be traced back to the country's tumultuous past, shaped by centuries of conflict and a multi-party low-intensity war that persists as the world's longest-running. These right-wing death squads, infamous for causing the majority of modern conflict casualties, predate the rise of the Medellin Cartel and Pablo Escobar's cocaine empire.
Violence in Colombia has been a persistent issue since the country's independence from Spain in 1814. This violence stemmed from political, class-based struggles and a desperate desire to control Colombia's abundant agricultural land and minerals. Over the years, two main ideological parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, engaged in constant conflict, battling for control over the nation's vast natural resources.
One of the most devastating periods of violence occurred during the Thousand-Day War, fought from October 17, 1899, to November 21, 1902. This civil war, fought on land and sea, resulted in over 100,000 deaths and left the country's infrastructure in ruins, plunging Colombia into extreme poverty. The conflict left the nation politically and socially divided between the Conservative Party, which supported a strong central government, and the Liberal Party, which advocated for social reforms and regional autonomy.
The bitter wounds of the Thousand Days War fanned the flames of partisan conflict following World War II. The assassination of Liberal Party leader Jorge Elicer Gaitn on April 9, 1948, sparked a 10-hour riot known as El Bogotazo, which devastated Bogot's downtown districts. This event unleashed a decade of brutal civil conflict known as La Violencia, which lasted from 1948 to 1958.
During La Violencia, the Conservative Party founded brutal militias that served as the forerunners of paramilitary groups that emerged later in the 20th century. These irregular armed groups functioned as a brutal shadow police, murdering and displacing Liberal supporters while the state attempted to control the country's countryside.
By 1953, the Conservative government had lost control so severely that General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla seized power in a bloodless coup. After consolidating his power, Rojas Pinilla declared a general amnesty to end the violence, but this only produced limited success. Many Liberal militias continued fighting, leading to a vicious cycle of vendettas and counter-vendettas.
Despite a period of declining popularity and lack of broad political support, Rojas Pinilla was ultimately deposed by a five-man military junta in 1957, marking the return to civilian rule. Colombia entered a new era with the Liberals and Conservatives forming the National Front, hoping to end the bloodshed. However, the power-sharing deal proved ineffective, as pervasive bloodletting and lawlessness persisted in rural areas.
The brutal and corrupt conduct of authorities during La Violencia, coupled with the government's inability to quell the violence, fostered considerable distrust among Colombia's rural population. As a result, the Colombian Communist Party gained support from the rural poor, even after being declared illegal in 1956.
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