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MILITARY AND POLICE IN COLOMBIA 3/31/2010
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Military Spending in Colombia 2010 National Budget 27.3% Debt Service 19.9% Social Protection 14.2% Defense and Security 13.9% Education 7.0% Housing 3.9% Interior and Justice 2.8% Transportation 2.3%Action and Social Aid 1.7% Environment and Development 1.6% Mines and Energy
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The Colombian Military: Function Threats to State Sovereignty and Security The government lacks a monopoly on power and violence within its territory, esp. in the interior Insurgency Narco-State Crime Homicides (2008): 16,140 (33/100,000 inhabitants) Kidnapping (2008): 437 (total +/-1,500 held in 2009) Threats to Human Security: Between 3 and 5 million Internally Displaced Persons (6% to 10% of the total population) Poverty 46% Unemployment 12%
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National Police Armed force under the Ministry of Defense Personnel: 143,557 (2008) Armed Forces Army: 230,373 Navy: 28,796 Airforce: 8,227
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The Colombian Military: Corruption Inflating Military Success 29 Oct 2008: 3 Generals and 24 other officers were fired and face criminal murder charges for their involvement in a scheme to murder poor, unemployed young men and pass them off as guerrillas killed in combat with the army Complicity with Right-Wing Paramilitaries Organizational support Deliberately fail to take action to prevent abuses or massacres Participation in abuses or massacres Complicity with Left-Wing Guerrillas and Drug Cartels Deliberately fail to take action to prevent abuses Information sharing Human Rights Abuses The military is responsible for over 300 "extrajudicial executions” each year. Oct 2008: Police opened fire on thousands of Indian marchers demanding land, killing two protesters.
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Paramilitary Actors in Colombia Other Military-Like Organizations Paramilitary Police: Colombian National Police; Personnel: 143,557 Paramilitary Groups; Personnel: 129,000 Groups: Leftist Guerrillas: FARC-EP, ELN Right-Wing Paramilitary: AUC Drug Cartels: Medellin, Cali Private Security Companies CONVIVIR: a self-defense and intelligence gathering group; when Congress restricted their operations in 1997 they reorganized as the illegal AUC US companies are contracted to carry out counternarcotics activities and support activities in Colombia. DynCopr Petroleum companies hire private security to protect pipelines and other infrastructure (the military and paramilitaries also play a role here)
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Timeline: Colombia 2002: Uribe elected President 2004: Ammendment to the Constitution allows Uribe to run for a second consecutive term 2005: Justice and Peace Law 2006: Uribe reelected
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Timeline: Colombia 2008: Extradition of 14 right-wing paramilitary leaders to the US on drug charges Three of FARC's seven-man secretariat are killed Raul Reyes is killed by a Colombian bombing raid on his camp in Ecuador Ivan Rios is killed by his bodyguard leader Mr Marulanda dies of a heart attack Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued 2009: Illegal phone and email eavesdropping by the Administrative Security Department (DAS) Signes bases agreement with U.S. 2010 Constitutional Court rejects a re-election law that would have allowed Uribe to run for a 3 rd term
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Demilitarization v. Armed Confrontation Demilitarization Weakens the military’s ability to intervene in politics History of failure Risks legitimizing paramilitary activity Progress: The AUC reached agreement with the government in 2003 (implementation in 2005) to demobilize. By 2006 31,000 paramilitaries had demobilized and the AUC as a formal organization ceased 92% are covered by an amnesty declared by presidential decree The remaining 8% come under the Justice and Peace Act and are eligible for reduced penalties and sentences There have been four major peace processes involving the guerrilla groups, all of which have failed.
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Demilitarization v. Armed Confrontation Armed Confrontation: Augments military power in all arenas Risks intensifying conflict and triggering side-conflicts Risks increasing military corruption Achieving total victory is unlikely and impractical
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