Politics In Depth

Is paramilitarism over in Colombia? 

July 23, 2006

The government claims the right-wing militias have successfully dissolved, but other reports suggest otherwise.

Abstract: Gabriela Perdomo - On Apr. 17, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, publicly stated that "the AUC, the so-called United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, are finished."

Gabriela Perdomo - On Apr. 17, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, publicly stated that "the AUC, the so-called United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, are finished." Restrepo lauded the end of a peace process between the AUC and the government after which about 31,000 paramilitaries laid down their arms. His words and his enthusiasm did not have much of an echo. Aside from the feeling of scepticism that has surrounded the whole process, Colombians had just received reports from both the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN) that warned of a new generation of paramilitarism in the making, with new groups created by "demobilized" combatants.

When the controversial process began in late 2003, one of the illegal militia's leaders participating in the dialogues, Ernesto Báez, warned of the consequences of failing to implement a comprehensive program to help demobilized combatants return to civil life. Báez declared, "If the government fails to help the demobilized, there will be a next generation of paramilitaries much more violent and bloody than the previous ones." Anyone familiar with paramilitary-related violence knows this prediction depicts the worse possible scenario for Colombia's future.

Paramilitary or "self-defence" groups were first seen in the early 1980s as a response to the state's failure to deal with leftist guerrillas. These armed groups, active since the early 1960s, were responsible for displacements, assassinations, kidnappings and extortion of peasants and landlords in rural areas. Ever since, dozens of extreme-right paramilitary armies began operating all over the country, most notably in the north. They took control of entire towns where they instated their own rule of law. Years later, most of these "spontaneous" and powerful groups gathered under the AUC umbrella, the group which Colombian president Álvaro Uribe managed to bring to negotiations.

Paramilitaries are accused of perpetrating the worst crimes seen in Colombia's recent history. Their infamous assassinations with chainsaws, practices of torture and ritual-like initiations, recruitment of child soldiers, massacres of entire towns and many other atrocities were little known until fairly recently. Especially in bigger cities, their crimes were only rural legends for many years. Today, it is known that almost 3 million Colombians have been their direct victims, and that they took control of over 2 million hectares of the national territory. Every day new information about an organization that has tentacles in legal and illegal businesses such as drug trafficking—and, certainly, politics—becomes available.

The AUC-government peace process has been widely criticized, both at home and internationally. One of its most controversial points is the so-called Peace and Justice Law. This legislation allows each demobilized combatant, including faction leaders, to pay only up to eight years in prison for the sum of their crimes. In spite of all the condemnation, Uribe—who just earned a new four-year term as president in May—can rely on far-reaching support from Colombians to finish the deal with the AUC. However, alarms about a possible re-grouping of paramilitary militias could jeopardize the whole process. If this phenomenon is not controlled immediately, Colombians could lose more that their sympathy for their head of state. They could, literally, lose control over their country.

On Mar. 1, the OAS issued a report asserting that about 4,000 former AUC members already belong to new and better equipped organizations. Cambio magazine revealed details of a Colombian intelligence report warning that there are 22 new paramilitary groups in the country, with 22,000 members. According to the document, the new groups are less interested in combating the guerrillas, and more in securing drug-production and trafficking routes. In many towns, local authorities are warning of increasing pressure from new armed leaders who threaten the population in exchange for money and silence. Cities like Bogotá, Medellín and Cali are specific targets of this new generation of paramilitaries.

The trial of former AUC combatants and leaders who participated in the peace process will soon start. Uribe's administration still has the chance to bring the process to an end on a high note, demonstrating both legitimacy and transparency. Over his next four years in office, Uribe will have to prove that the concessions he granted the AUC were worth it. He will also have to deliver on his promises of jobs and a decent life for those who disarmed, and make sure the victims of their crimes receive economic compensation and their stolen land in return. The paramilitaries will also have to prove their claim for peace was real. Restrepo, on the other hand, must work to make sure his victorious claim of the end of paramilitarism one day becomes a reality.

Spanish version published in Mexico's Diario La Razón