Project

Beyond the Law: Colombia's Embrace of Paramilitary Power

The government of Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has been paralyzed by allegations that highly placed officials colluded with paramilitary groups implicated in assassinations and drug smuggling, even as Uribe presses the United States for a lucrative trade deal and to continue its massive flow of military and counter-narcotics aid. Journalist Phillip Robertson and videographer Carlos Villalon investigate the controversies swirling around America's most important Latin American ally and what they mean for the people of Colombia.

The Colombian government asserts that paramilitary groups are mostly demobilized but targeted assasinations, drug smuggling and forced displacement continue to be a fact of life in Colombia. More than 10 members of the Colombian congress are currently under indictment for collaborating with paramilitary organizations. International human rights groups allege that the influence of such groups on Uribe's government is greater still.

A laptop computer that belonged to a paramilitary commander known as "Jorge 40" surfaced in October 2006 with records of hundreds of killings and conversations with Colombian politicians. Against that background hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid flow into the country to fight cocaine production and to combat a civil war that has lasted some 40 years. Bush administration officials hail Uribe for a tough stance that has begun to turn the tide, they say, and has won broad public support.

Critics say the heavy-handed approach betrays U.S. human rights ideals while inciting an escalation in violence. Robertson and Villalon explore the current human rights climate in Colombia and talk to the victims and perpetrators of paramilitary violence.

Map of Journey in Nariño

Carlos Avila Gonzalez and Phillip Robertson, for the Pulitzer Center
Narino, Colombia

Our route through the southern Colombian Andes to the Rio Tapaje.

El Charco

We arrived and found a group of campesinos living in an old gymnasium in town. Many of them were from Pueblo Nuevo, a town an hour upriver that was caught in fierce fighting between FARC and the Army a few months ago. They also told us that the guerillas helped them grow coca and they were afraid to return to their town. Their situation has definitely gone from bad to worse. We made a trip the next day to Pueblo Nuevo to see if there was anyone left...

El Charco, 7 July

Carlos Avila Gonzalez and Phillip Robertson, for the Pulitzer Center
El Charco, Colombia

El Charco sits on a bend in the Tapaje river, a good sized town that is home to a growing population of displaced people from upriver. It is a violent and unpredictable place, filled with informers for the FARC and a heavy military presence. El Charco is poor and people have little or no civic services. The mayor told us that the city has gone without a supply of fresh water for more than two months.