A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLOMBIA
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Colombians are correct in stating that there would be no cocaine trade if there
was no market for the drug; although cocaine has a degree of popularity among
some Colombians, the consumption rate is half that of the U.S. and parts of
Europe. Foreign travelers may want to ask themselves why there is such a need
for cocaine in all sectors of their "advanced" countries. That said, there is no
cultural or geographic reason why the trade should center in Colombia — coca is
traditionally consumed by only a few indigenous groups on the Caribbean coast,
and up until the mid-1990s, most of the coca paste was coming from Peru and
Bolivia. 80% of the world's cocaine is still produced in Colombia mainly because
the state has never had an effective presence in all of the national territory.
By the mid-1980s, cocaine traffickers like Pablo Escobar — the infamous leader
of the Medellín cartel — were making lots of money. They took their profits and
invested in ranches, urban properties, the contraband trade, and other
businesses around Colombia, laundering their money in the process. They came
up against the guerrillas — when members of their families were kidnapped
(and sometimes killed), they reacted by forming their own paramilitary death
squads — the paras.
Such death squads were responsible for attacking and killing members of the M-
19 after the truce had been signed in 1984. The M-19 leadership blamed the
government, and came up with a plan to take over the Palace of Justice building
in Bogotá and present their case before the Colombian Supreme Court on
national television. The takeover took place on November 6, 1985; but things did
not turn out as planned. President Betancur was shocked, disappointed and
depressed, and allowed the military to take charge during the incident. The army
attacked and soon the building was on fire. The president of the supreme court,
unable to contact President Betancur, called a radio station instead, and the
nation heard his plea to stop the attack and negotiate with the guerrillas; it was
all in vain. All of the guerrillas involved in the incident were killed, along with
many innocent bystanders and others who worked in the Palace — eleven
justices lost their lives. Army officers were convinced, incorrectly, that the M-19