Travel to Colombia? God Forbid! This ironic title only reflects the general nature of the beliefs about this mysterious country between Ecuador and Venezuela, held by the part of the global population that is somewhat informed on the subject. Although saying informed might be a bit exaggerated. It’s rather the knowledge gathered from a Netflix series, which depicts Colombia during the time of the drug wars.
At the end of the last semester, out of curiosity, I asked my students what they associate with Colombia and Medellin. As one might expect, there were no big surprises. The first, and essentially the only association that came to most people’s minds, were those related to Colombia – the kingdom of the drug business. The TV series Narcos, Pablo Escobar, and tons of cocaine smuggled into the United States. In addition to this, the students painted a vision of countless murders, brutal reprisals, attacks, and kidnappings. They asserted that this is the everyday reality not only in Colombia, but also in other countries in Central and South America. And for sure they do not want to travel to Colombia.
A few, although with a large degree of uncertainty about whether it was a correct response, mentioned guerilla warfare, referring to the organized criminal groups that terrorized Colombia for decades under an ideological cover – fighting for the rights of the working people in cities and rural areas.
In my next post, I’ll talk about whether this is really what present-day Colombia looks like. And whether there is anything to fear when preparing for a travel to Colombia. I will also write about what Colombia is for me and why – I won’t deny – I’m fascinated by this country. However, in this post, I will only briefly address the above associations, which are so typical of those who have little to say about Colombia.
While the Spanish word “la guerilla” translates to “guerrilla” it carries entirely different values than those that come to mind for most of us. In European version, a guerrilla is a noble patriot fighting against an occupier for an independent and safe motherland. Meanwhile, in Colombia, a guerilla is indeed a guerrilla, but one fighting against their own government for mostly ideological reasons. To finance this fight, Colombian guerrillas for decades undertook every possible effort – all of which were rather illegal. The goal was clear – to fill the pocket with money. Even today, remains of guerrilla groups operating on the border with Venezuela, or in the Amazon region, engage in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and only God knows what else.
What are – or rather were – the FARC-EP? They are the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo) or the communist guerrillas in Colombia. For an average European, who knows anything about communism and our eastern barbarian – the Soviet Union – the word “communist” immediately sparks disgust. And rightly so, because this ideology has caused incredible harm to many nations around the globe. Particularly to the nations of Eastern and Central Europe and, it turns out, to Colombians too.
The FARC movement was established in the mid-1960s with the aim of overthrowing the Colombian government and establishing a Marxist-Leninist state (what a dreadful vision). Most of the “guerrilla” operations were associated with drug trafficking, ransom kidnappings, and a host of horrific criminal activities in Colombia and its neighboring countries. FARC was eventually declared a terrorist organization by the local government and several other countries, including the United States. The USA perceived FARC as an emanation of communism and an attempt at USSR expansion into Latin America. Such a perception of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia had its obvious rationale, but the support given to the Colombian government escalated the conflict to a new, higher level.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia operated for several decades. The Marxist-Leninist ideology in their version led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. In 2016, FARC signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government. It’s ended the armed conflict and led to the disarmament of the group’s fighters. From our, European perspective, this is a bit hard to imagine. How can you forget about the harm done and invite murderers to the negotiation table, and even offer them places in the administration? However, sometimes this is the best solution. And so far, it has effectively reduced the level of threat to the stability and internal security of the state. However, nature abhors a vacuum, and with changes come the emergence of new threats. FARC’s place was quickly taken by criminal gangs, and now there are more bloody, border retaliations between Colombians and Venezuelans.
So, it’s worth asking whether the signed agreement brought about a real end to the communist guerrillas in Colombia. The answer is not straightforward. On the one hand, since the peace agreement many former FARC members have reintegrated into society. And they participate in the political process through a political party. Called the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común – so the abbreviation remains the same, FARC). And it’s no wonder that Colombian communists stopped fighting for a global revolution, when almost 40 years earlier the revolution went bust. So, you could ultimately conclude that peace has prevailed. However, some former FARC members continue their criminal activities. And drug trafficking and bloody violence remain serious problems in some parts of Colombia.
If you’re wondering about Pablo Escobar’s successors, the situation is not entirely clear. It is evident that they have learned from the downfall of the drug king’s empire. Little is heard about them, and it’s hard to believe that it is true. In such a strategically important location from a geographic standpoint and in a climate so favorable to large coca plantations, no one took the place left vacant by Escobar’s organization. You just need to stroll through the centers of large Colombian cities. You’ll quickly hear an offer to buy any amount of cocaine (not only, of course). So, this enormous problem has not disappeared in the morning mist enveloping the Colombian Andes. It still exists, and I get the impression that it’s growing proportionally to the expanding North American market.
As for the TV series “Narcos” I haven’t met a single person who would consider the popularity of this series as beneficial. It didn’t build a positive image of Colombia in the international opinion. This is sadly true, and what’s worse, Colombia’s image, embedded in international consciousness, is rather poor. For most of Europeans, a travel to Colombia and touring the country is perceived as exceptionally risky. This greatly affects the Colombian tourism sector, and the local population does not derive sufficient income from it. Yet, we’re talking about a country that, despite its vast natural resources and potential, is relatively underdeveloped. And it has a huge percentage of the population living in poverty.
If you want to learn a few things about the economy of Colombia. And the countries of South America, I invite you to my next posts. Panama – travel to Tax Heaven
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