Pretending that everyone wants peace in Colombia ignores the long-term effects of militarism — and the fact that the war benefits many powerful interests, including in Washington.
After half a century, Colombia may put an end to its conflict—if the U.S. will allow it.
When Barack Obama entered office in 2009, many Latin America specialists reveled in the prospect that U.S. policy would reform its Cold War approach to a region that is a major source of foreign oil, illegal immigration, and illicit narcotics. The United States would at last recognize and address the complex political and economic dynamics of a region still struggling with its colonial legacy, and where one-third of people still endure often extreme poverty.
The rupture of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Colombia after a special session of the Organization of American States (OAS) on July 22 marks increased animosity between the outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez.
While most Americans are familiar with al-Qaida, they’re less knowledgeable about a group spreading terror within U.S. inner cities: Mara Salvatrucha. Also known as MS-13, the Maras have 20,000 North American members. Mara cadres have set up in many American cities, creating the beginnings of a national command hierarchy, with some Maras on the East and West coast reporting directly to and paying gang dues to leaders in Central America. As these cadres grow and learn, they become more dangerous, and already they have begun to actively target law enforcement officers. Although the FBI and law enforcement agencies have tried to contain them using anti-racketeering statutes, which allow prosecutors to attack the structures of organized crime, the real problem lies beyond the border.