tysontrips

18 December, 2005

¡Guerrillas And Paramilitaries And Drug Cartels, Oh My!*

Cartagena, Colombia - Looking at a road map of the Americas you might notice the Pan-American Highway, which effectively runs almost uninterrupted from Circle, Alaska (100 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle) to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. In theory you could hop in your car for the mother of all road trips and drive the entire length of North, Central, and South America without even once exiting their car to grab an ampm hot dog or a 7-Eleven Double Gulp – as if you could resist those temptations for such a length of time. But this extremely long journey is actually not possible to complete uninterrupted due to a short break in the highway. The formidable and nearly impassable stretch of landscape which makes up the eastern terminus of the Central American isthmus, and its connection to South America, is called the Darien Gap. This wild region - still untamed by roads - comprises Eastern Panama and Northwestern Colombia and is perhaps one of the least known and least explored areas in the Western Hemisphere. The exotic Darien's jungles are rumored to be full of scarcely-known native tribes, thousands of unique and yet unstudied plant and animals species (some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet occurs at this continental crossroads), and allegedly, various drug-smuggling and guerrilla groups; the two former beckoning adventurous travelers and the latter deterring all but the criminally insane. According to all reasonable sources the Darien Gap is highly off-limits as far as overland travel is concerned. Let's Go guidebooks calls the area "prohibitively dangerous" and "Strongly discourages any attempt to cross the Darien Gap."

Normally this kind of rhetoric only fuels my travel fire, as it did when I visited Kashmir three years ago, despite warnings from various guidebooks that groups of tourists had recently been captured and beheaded amidst an ongoing and confusing war for annexation and independence of the Kashmir region. Perhaps I was lucky, but at the time I went the area seemed peaceful and majestic. But probably for good reason. I was the only tourist there at the time. Perhaps there was nobody else left to behead. Hiking through dense Darien jungle while trying to avoid bandits and drug smugglers in order to survive the crossing of this dangerous region, however, doesn't appeal to me enough just so that I can say "Been there, done that." Therefore, it seems that my overland journey must be briefly interrupted in order for me to jump across this relatively tiny gap from Colombia to Panama. And in order for me to continue to live. Then it shall be so.

Traveler's Warning Threat Level: Elevated?

A few weeks back, while gathering information about potentially crossing this ill-famed gap overland, I came across some other very interesting material about the country of Colombia, where I have spent my last two and a half weeks. First of all, of the dozen or so countries I plan on visiting on this journey, two of them are considered to have "ongoing security concerns" serious enough for the US government to warn US citizens of travel to those countries. The US State Department maintains a web page called 'Travel Warnings,' - posted messages that are continually updated on their website - intended to advise US citizens of probable danger in potentially non-US-friendly areas abroad. One of these countries which I plan on visiting - of the 27 listed on the site - is the ever-threatening, highly-dangerous, "Beyond the Axis of Evil" and "Outpost of tyranny" and "communist" island nation of Cuba. The other country is Colombia (the link to the travel warning page for Colombia).

The travel warning for Colombia advises that, since the year 2000, 32 Americans have been kidnapped in Colombia (presumably to be held for ransom). This statistic is daunting when considering that US policy is to not negotiate with kidnappers. Upon further research I discovered that Colombia also holds the world record for the most kidnappings in one year (I would like to know which morbid book of world records chronicles these kinds of acheivements?). The kidnapping capital of the world recorded at least 3000 people abducted in Colombia in the year 2000. Of course, most of these were Colombians, but many were also foreigners. Plenty of stories, whether true or not, circulate in the backpacker community here about robberies which have taken place in recent years. For instance, a few years back a group of hikers was exploring an ancient indigenous lost city in the coastal mountain range and were abducted by guerrillas. The group was led through the jungle-covered mountains for months before being released. Such episodes are rare but do occur. They keep travelers on their toes and full of adrenaline.

To me, however, what these guerrilla kidnappings signify more importantly is the fact that Colombia has been and will continue to be mired in civil war for the foreseeable future. This country is no stranger to civil war. In the 1800's alone, soon after the formation of the country, at least eight civil wars took place along with 50 or so coups to oust various governments. The bloodiest of the civil wars was a period which lasted about a decade and in which an estimated 300,000 Colombians were killed and countless acts of rape and other violence were committed. This period, called La Violencia, was the costliest - in terms of human life - of any civil war in the Americas.

So What Makes Colombia So 'Dangerous'?

Above: A highly sophisticated ‘Super Canon’ at an undisclosed drug cartel compound deep in the Colombian jungle awaits imminent attack from outside the walls (Photo courtesy of tysontrips archives).

¡Guerrillas...

Another unfortunate outcome of La Violencia was the formation of groups of left-wing guerrillas who are still present and as active now as ever during their more than 60 years of existence. The violence created by guerrilla activity has been devastating to Colombia. In the year 2000 alone up to 300,000 inhabitants fled from rural areas (where the guerrillas are most active) to the larger cities, fearing or having been the victims of violence. The Colombian government has continually fought these heavily armed rebel groups, pushing the lines of control back from the more heavily populated north and west of the country, to the mountains and jungles in the south and east. But the government has never had complete control of the country - the war continues today. In 1985, for instance, after failed negotiations with the M-19 guerrillas, in a display of brutal force and power, the M-19 group actually seized control of the Palace of Justice in Colombia's capital, Bogotá. The army responded with their own use of force. More than a day's worth of fighting and the resulting fires left over 100 dead, which included eleven of the Federal Supreme Court justices. Just try to imagine the chaos which would ensue if tanks from a domestic terrorist group rolled up the stairs of the US Supreme Court and open-fired, assassinating the justices. No, 'control' over the guerrillas is definitely the wrong word to use in describing the Colombian governments realationship with them. In fact, recently the guerrillas have gained even more clout. In some of the first open negotiations with guerrillas, in 1998 President Pastrana handed over a piece of Colombia the size of Switzerland to be entirely controlled by the most powerful guerrilla group, FARC. This means the government has absolutely no presence in these areas. If anything, the guerrillas are only gaining strength.

...And Paramilitaries...

More bad news for the people of Colombia: In response to these guerrillas, non-government-funded (or sometimes covertly-government-funded) armies called paramilitaries have taken up arms in order to protect themselves and the local population. It's bad news because, like in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro - whose people are controlled, policed and protected by drugs mafias - the guerrillas have made similar arrangements with the inhabitants of guerrilla-controlled areas. In response to this support, paramilitaries have been known to brutalize and even massacre civilians who are thought to be aiding guerrilla activities. This means even more bloodshed for the already ravaged populous; hence the migration from out of the guerrilla controlled areas.

...And Drug Cartels, Oh My!

Another important source of Colombia´s violence comes from the power-hungry Colombian drug cartels who control 80% of the world cocaine market and who are increasingly becoming involved in the trade of heroin and opium as well. Despite Colombia's dismal economy, it is thought that the 500 tons of cocaine exported every year bring in more than 6 billion dollars of revenue, much of which goes back into Colombia. Once source reports that worldwide street sales of heroin, cocaine and marijuana generate 45 billion dollars - this figure would make up half of Colombia's GDP. Drugs are big business so obviously the cartels are well-equipped with a means to protect themselves (read: massive amounts of high-powered arms). And whenever the CIA or Colombia drug forces chop the head off of a drug cartel (ie Pablo Escobar in 1993) another cartel just picks up the slack.

These are the reasons for the violence in Colombia. And these are the reasons why the US State Department warns against travel in Colombia.

Now, the history of Colombia's and its violence has led to a lot of stereotypes about the country. Whether or not these stereotypes are fair or true isn't important. What matters is that it keeps the majority of travelers far away from the country, right? Wrong. I think the most incorrect stereotype going around is that travelers are scared to come to Colombia, not that Colombia is dangerous for travelers. True, Colombia could potentially dangerous for travelers but - despite the travel warnings - there are literally hundreds of Americans down here. I have seen ten times as many Americans in the last two weeks as I saw in six months in Brazil. In fact, I have come across more Americans here than anywhere else I have traveled in the world. They are not heeding the travel warnings. They aren't listening to the urgent pleas to avoid night travel due to potential kidnapping and roadblocks. They are taking night buses without thinking twice. Generally, they are avoiding the guerrilla-controlled areas of the country. But that still leaves many major attractions and all the big cities and coastlines as open territory to explore.

However, despite the fact that there are so many Americans (and many of other nationalities) here, due to Colombia's stereotypes there must be countless others who are staying home or traveling elsewhere. That is great because Colombia is in many ways still a relatively undiscovered paradise. The good thing about these negative stereotypes is that they are theoretically keeping the unadventurous masses away. Sure, the odds of being kidnapped in Colombia might be a higher than in the US (or not) but that doesn't mean they are really very high. Realistically speaking, plenty of people don't get kidnapped here. Only .000075% of the population was kidnapped in the record setting year. All kidding aside, the guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug cartels are keeping some of the tourists away but I haven´t run across any of these allegedly active groups. All I have seen are friendly young Colombian soldiers smiling and waving (while dressed in camouflage and carrying enormous automatic machine guns). Surely all this is going on, but a little common sense goes a long ways.

As for the people, I would never know this is a terrorized population who has suffered through so much violence, war and intimidation. Most are easy-going, friendly and seemingly carefree - despite the rampant poverty. Looking at their faces I would think the locals have always been catching fish peacefully in the bay, sipping rum in the evening in an open-air cafe or sampling local fruits at the juicebar. Maybe some of them have had it so tough they just smile and try to enjoy life while times are good. Or maybe they are too young to remember the atrocity. Most of them probably just want the simple prospect of a happy life without being involved in political, military or drug factions.

Above: This sign represents my impression of how Colombians view life. It’s okay to be drunk in public and urinate in the street. And it’s even okay to play around or touch this wire. But if you are drunk and urinating in public don’t do so near this wire or you could get shocked.

Certainly there are more 'people stories' out there, more depth to the political climate and more profound aspects of the violence which influence the colective psyche of Colombia. But here on the Caribbean coast it does not seem to affect everyday life - at least not this very day. Clearly there is an vicious underbelly to the legacy of violence which has plagued Colombia throughout its existence, but three weeks here doesn't seem like enough time for me to delve too deeply into such a scary realm. Besides, I didn’t come here to unravel the mysteries of the drug smuggling in the Darien Gap; I came here for the beaches. Can I get a witness?:

Above: Playa Blanca, Isla Barú, Isalas del Rosario National Park, near Cartagena, Colombia

*All information and statistics are borrowed from at least secondary sources. Do not take them as cold, hard facts. Do take them, however, with a grain of salt (or may I suggest another widely-available, white-crystalline, powdery substance.