Colombia and the United States

by Murillo, Mario Alfonso

• ISBN13: 9781583226063
• ISBN10: 1583226060
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Seven Stories Pr

Summary

Every year, the United States spends millions of dollars to help the war--ravaged country of Colombia. But help it with what? In Colombia & the United States, Mario A. Murillo and Jesus Avirama explores the devastating impact that misdirected U.S. military "aid"-under the banner of "the war on drugs"-continues to have on the people of Colombia. They argue that the conflict in Colombia is not about drugs, nor guerillas, nor "terrorism," but rather about the unwillingness of the country's elite to open up spaces for truly democratic development. Mario Murillo is the author of Islands of Resistance: Puerto Rico, Vieques and U.S. Policy. Jesus Avirama, a member of the indigenous Kokonuco people, is a longtime activist.

Author Biography

MARIO ALFONSO MURILLO is a professor at the School of Communication at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and teaches media studies courses at New York University. A veteran radio journalist, he has reported extensively about Colombia and Latin America, producing award-winning programs and documentaries for the Pacifica Radio Network and National Public Radio. He is author of Islands of Resistance: Puerto Rico, Vieques, and U.S. Policy (2001). He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(4)
Introduction	13	(20)
I Origins of the Conflict
1 The Myths Behind Colombian Democracy	33	(11)
2 Colombia's Un-Civil Conflict: A History That Repeats Itself	44	(13)
II The Principal Actors in Today's Conflict
3 The Contemporary Guerrilla Movement	57	(27)
4 The "Paramilitaries" and the Dirty War	84	(37)
III A View from the North
5 National Security, Dependency, and Exploitation: Bogota and Washington's Complicit Dance	121	(34)
6 Colombia in the News: Structural Dangers in a Post-9/11 World	155	(37)
7 Conclusion-Two Possible Futures	192	(10)
Notes	202	(20)
Index	222	(10)
About the Author	232