The harsh reality of Colombia

Re “Cut a deal on Colombia,” editorial, April 12

Your editorial is thin on the facts. There are millions of displaced Colombians, disproportionately Afro Colombian and indigenous people, who have been forced off their land by violence or the threat of violence. Many “demobilized” death squads have resurfaced with new names to threaten human rights defenders, and there have been increased extrajudicial executions of civilians by members of the Colombian armed forces. The reduction in the total number of union leaders killed (still abysmally high by any interpretation) reflects the efficacy of the official terror, not of the judicial system. Finally, many members of President Alvaro Uribe’s government and Uribe supporters are either in jail or under investigation for their links with vigilante squads that have engaged in systematic murder campaigns.

Raul Fernandez

Latino Studies Professor

UC Irvine