Politicking

I met up with a guy from CS Bogotá named Juan (left) and went out for drinks with him and two of his pals, David and Diego(middle and right). Juan was a history major here in Bogotá and had an alternate perspective on the current administration in Colombia. You see, there are two types of terrorist groups in Colombia, communist guerrillas which came first, and right wing paramilitaries who originally formed as mercenaries offering protection to wealthy farmers. Both became narcotraffickers, but the guerillas control empty jungle whereas the paramilitaries control rural areas with voters who can be used to take seats in the senate.

As a result, the conservative senate passed a bill allowing paramilitary soldiers to reintegrate rather easily while aggressively prosecuting guerrilla fighters. Juan's father was a political activist working for a leftist senator at the time and he wrote the version of the bill which did not get passed. For this and probably other reasons which remain unknown, he was kidnapped and murdered. What is really scary though is that the only way the paramilitaries could've pulled it off is by collaborating with governmental intelligence agencies. I'm really impressed with Juan for being so pulled together despite having lived through that.