Background: Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.
May 9th 2008South America » Colombia » Taganga So when I said in my last entry that there would be photos coming...I lied. They aren´t coming...ever. I encountered my first and hopefully only piece of bad luck 2 days ago. I was at Tayrona Nat ... 2 photos[full story]
May 6th 2008South America » Colombia » Taganga Another update...we are in Taganga, which is about 5-10 minutes just outside of Santa Marta, which is on the northern coast. To recap the last week or so, in San Gil, we decided to just go white wa ... 2 photos[full story]
January 20th 2008South America » Colombia » Taganga I really had no idea that Columbia would be so beautiful, lively, cultured and modern at the same time. I had a vague idea about Bolivia even though it turned out to be so much more, but thinking back ... 38 photos[full story]
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