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colombia
"La
Violencia" - While the attention
of the world is drawn to conflicts in the Middle
East, fuel is being added to a smoldering fire
in Central America - Colombia. The decades-long
civil war in Colombia threatens to erupt with
renewed violence as the new President Alvaro
Uribe, backed by the United States, calls for
an all-out war on "terrorism" in that
country. The U.S. Congress allocated
$105 million to "assist Colombia in
anti-terror and anti-narcotics efforts"
but opponents to this measure fear that money
will be used to further repress the populace
and spur a new cycle of violence to plague that
country.
This 40-year civil war has pitted
the government of Columbia and right-wing paramilitary
groups against the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC) and other leftist guerilla
groups as they battle back and forth over land
rich in oil, illegal drugs, and other resources..
Through the years there have been numerous incidences
of kidnapping and murder attributed to groups
on all sides.Currently teams from Christian
Peacemaker Teams and Amnesty
International try to assist local villages
caught up in this struggle, but if it the "war"
intensifies, violence is expected to escalate.
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