In the 1960s, to tackle leftist insurgency in the midst of a disorganised and weak state, the US advised Latin American governments to use local proxy forces to combat insurgents. The legal foundations of paramilitarism are found in the law itself. Cannibalism and mass-rape have been employed to devastate communities, depopulate land and open the way for capitalist investment. Pregnant woman’s foetuses were ripped out with machetes, to prevent the child from growing up as a socialist. This belief that violence against the labour movement has a strategic utility led to the use of barbarous tactics. The objective has been to make workers too afraid to join trade unions and to stand up for their economic and political rights. These paramilitaries have generally employed violence and terror as a conscious weapon against civilians. THROUGHOUT Colombia’s half-century civil war, wealthy social sectors, especially landowners, have sponsored the formation of private armed groups to act as a counter-measure against the labour movement to protect their interests.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |