Colombia, Piedad Córdoba’s Turbulent Fall

At his inauguration in August, President Juan Manuel Santos declared that he would end the long-running Colombian civil war once and for all by continuing the “Democratic Security” policies of his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe. This strategy, while producing gains against guerilla groups throughout the country over the past decade, has come at the price of increased human rights abuses, legal subversion, and political coercion by the Colombian state, a trade-off that both Uribe and his successor deny exists. However, recent events suggest otherwise, revealing not only the existence of this quid pro quo, but also the continuation of repressive tactics designed to stifle dissent and restrict official accountability in the midst of increasingly lethal military operations. Read Article