Colombia has quite a distinct history compared to the rest of the Latin American countries. Colombia has been struck with violence throughout its history. There are many actors playing a part in producing violence, including the government itself. Furthermore, there are several causes of violence in Colombia, it is not only because of drugs Violence rages all the way from President Gaitan’s death to the ongoing war with drug dealers all over Colombia.
For instance, one of the most known acts of violence in Colombia is ironically named “La Violencia”. This event took place when “Gaitan was shot by an unknown assailant in the center of Bogota”. It is important to know the Gaitan was considered a threat to Conservatives and to others in the government,
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For instance, Conservatives were aided by the police and they “sacked and burned the buildings of the two must important and respected liberal newspapers ‘El Tiempo’ and ‘El Espectador’”. This furthermore contributed to more violence in Colombia, with Liberals uniting to fight against Conservatives. Sadly, just in 1950, approximately 50,000 people were killed. People died because of violence that was being perpetuated by the government. Instead of promoting civility, the government had its eyes on created more and more …show more content…
However, his administration started out roughly due to guerrilla violence that promoted Uribe to “declare a ninety day state of emergency”. Throughout his term, Uribe faced many challenges, such as, managing the internal conflicts and improving the human rights records of military and police authorities. Overall, Uribe accomplished to reduce the number of crimes and kidnappings since 2000. Today, President Juan Manuel Santos, started exploratory talks with the FARC and is trying to seek end to this on going
“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In America, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unlike other unfortunate countries, their freedom is limited. In many Latin American countries, the government’s leader has all power of the Country. Citizens have no rights to freedom, they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. Civilians fear to speak out to the regime of leader; However, there were a few courageous citizens enough to speak out against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual 's role in overcoming oppression.
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
In the early 1930’s, the Dominican Republic elected a new president by the name of Rafael Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo was a ruthless and selfish dictator even before he won the election. To win the election, he used his connections to kill supporters of the opposing candidates. Rafael Trujillo used his powers to oppress and murder masses of people (2 ”Rafael Trujillo”). Even though he was initially seen as a beneficial leader, Rafael Trujillo was proven to be an evil dictator.
At the same time, FARC continues to spread its influence through militant attacks and violent protests against the government. In August 2013, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ordered 50,000 soldiers into the capital city of Bogota to quell violent demonstrations by farmers and rural groups upset with government policies they claimed are negatively affecting their lives. “[T]he Santos government has accused the rebels [FARC] of infiltrating the protests in an attempt to stir unrest and force the president to make concessions at the negotiating table . . . FARC has been increasing its political dominance in swathes of rural Colombia,” ...
April 9, 1948, was a tragic day in Colombia’s history. On this day, Jorge Eliécer Gaítán, a candidate for the presidency of Colombia, was assassinated. In the 10 hour period that followed the assassination, angry mobs marched throughout the city of Bogota, looting and burning down over 100 buildings. Before the night would end, nearly 3,000 people would die in the streets. This terrible event in Colombia’s history is today referred to as the Bogotazo. This paper examines some of the underlying reasons contributing to the outbreak of this violence and the events that transpired during the Bogotazo. The paper concludes that the events leading to the violence of the Bogotazo are still present in Colombia today and will hamper its prospects for peace in the future.
In In the summer of 1968, Mexico was experiencing the beginning of a new student movement. The students sought liberal reform from the political system in Mexico. These students were determined to reveal the realities of poverty and misery and corruption in their country. (Guttmann) They were involved in different movements that would lead up to one event that would change the lives of everyone, “The Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968”. A day that ended the lives and shattered the dreams of many people. This event was the confirmation that the government could not be trusted and their lives would be determined by the actions they would take. This day would be brushed underneath the carpet and never spoken about for the sake
This source is valuable to examine as it demonstrates how cocaine rendered the country more vulnerable to globalization when the nation was already engaged in a prolonged armed conflict. Taussig himself asserts how cocaine exposed the nation to other threats, claiming, “along with the cocaine come the guerrilla, and behind the guerrilla come the paramilitaries in a war without mercy for control of the coca fields and therefore of what little is left of the staggeringly incompetent Colombian state” (16). This source is also valuable as Taussig even mentions how the United States War on Drugs in the 1970s heightened conflict and corruption, doing nothing on an international scale and allowing for Colombian cartels to dominate the cocaine market throughout the 1980s. My Cocaine Museum analyzes Colombia’s transition to cocaine and a critique of world inaction and globalization, interweaving both fact and fiction through first-hand accounts of Colombia’s history. In this sense, it is a worthy source to examine due to the first-hand stories of the violence caused by cocaine trade. Yet, the novel shares a limited perspective as it only tells one side of the story of the arise of cocaine and gives little voice to those who took over the farms and turned them into profit machines for funding the war. Nonetheless, it sheds light on a very important reality in Colombian
Pablo Escobar is remembered around the world as a criminal, a drug lord, and a gang leader. Escobar is believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 police officers, soldiers, lawyers, and politicians. Still to this day, almost every person in Colombia knows someone whose life has been affected by the actions of Pablo Escobar. He is recognized not only for his notorious crimes, but also for his generous support to the poor and his donations to many underprivileged communities. Despite his death over twenty years ago in 1993, the actions and decisions Escobar made while he was alive still have major influences on the world today.
Throughout his life, he traveled around Latin America and pursued his passion of being a transnational revolutionary. His biggest success was in Cuba, however, his ideas and tactics were transcended into many other movements around the continent with the publication of his 1960 book, Guerrilla Warfare. Here, Guevara illustrates the situations, tactics and skills that are most effective for social revolution to occur. In his book, he delves into innate detail regarding the strategy, tactics and favorable environment for guerrilla warfare. Although he outlines the necessary conditions for a triumphant revolution, Guevara’s book was not useful for sparking any other successful insurgencies throughout Latin America because it downplays the significance of the urban resistance and popular support as important factors to consider within a successful social revolution.
As unemployment and inflation strengthened poverty throughout the country, especially in the rural outskirts, in the city a new political movement, threatening the long established oligarch-military complex began to develop. When the radio began to announce that opposition’s, PDC candidate, Duarte was sweeping up votes, the radio was cut and when the transmission, the army government’s choice, Molina, was ahead. The blatant fraud encouraged liberal junior and jealous senior officers to stage a coup, attempting to place Duarte in power. After receiving help from forces in the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA), the which was formed in 1963 under the influence the United States to protect Cental America against “possible communist aggression,” and US military advisors, the senior military command put down the coup attempt. (___) The United States
Colombian citizens experience and live through the good and bad things Pablo does, when Americans only hear about the negative actions Escobar commits. Hearing versus seeing plays a vital role in the difference of perspectives between the Colombians and Americans. In the United States, only hearing about Pablo Escobar leads to confusion among different people as “For what, exactly, isn’t easy to understand without knowing Colombia and his life and times” (15). American civilians not knowing personally know why they hate Escobar reflects poorly on the United States. The media does not inform the general public about all the great and generous things Escobar accomplishes for Colombia, and only publishes the stories of his cartel killing innocent people. From the perspective of Colombians, they only know Escobar as a hero of Colombia as “At his death, Pablo was mourned by thousands. Crowds rioted when his casket was carried into the streets of his home city of Medellin” (15). Colombians create a national mourning day for Escobar after his death, when the Americans celebrate their success in killing him. This represents the difference in opinion of Escobar between the two countries. Pablo made promises and he conqueres them; he said he would end poverty as he provided education and housing to the poorest people inside of Colombia. On the other hand,
polarizing brutality in Cuba, the leak of a letter written by du Lome (the Spanish Minister to the
The beginning of the White Terror was the same day as the Nationalists coup d’état, July 17, 1936. The mass killings were premeditated as Emilio Mola had ordered his troops to destroy all traces of the leftist ideal...
Religion in Latin America has always been tied closely to Catholicism because of the influence of Europeans who came to settle South America, bringing along their Catholic foundation. With the early formations of governments in Latin America, church and state were closely linked. The church had significant influence over what happened in the political realm of the countries’ relations. The case was no different for Colombia. The Catholic church has played a significant role in the history of Colombia, assuming an esteemed status in the country and exercising control over different areas of the government and public affairs, but as time passed its role in power has taken a slight downturn.
McDermott, Jeremy. “US Targets Colombian Rebels as War against Terrorism Escalates.” Scottsman.com. February 10, 2002.