Fighting Monsters in the Abyss: The Second Administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez, 2006–2010

269 Pages·2015·2.327 MB·English

by  Harvey F. Kline

FIGHTING
MONSTERS
IN THE
ABYSS

FIGHTING
MONSTERS
IN THE
ABYSS
The Second
Administration of
Colombian President
Álvaro Uribe Vélez,
2006–2010
Harvey F. Kline
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALAB AMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
The University of Alab ama Press
Tuscaloosa, Ala bama 35487- 0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2015 by the University of Alab ama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the University
of Ala bama Press.
Typeface: Caslon and Gill Sans
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover photograph: Colombian President Álvaro Uribe at the Pentagon in 2004;
photograph by Helene C. Stikkel, US Department of Defense
Cover design: Gary Gore
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Americ an
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1984.
Cataloging- in- Publication data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 1880- 2
E- ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 8884- 3
Dedication
In Memory of
Federico Gil, 1915–2000
John D. Martz, 1934–1998
The two University of North Carolina-C hapel Hill professors
Who started my interest in Latin America,
Were models of research and scholarship,
And
Encouraged me to continue

With fond memories and thankfulness
We have dismantled the tentacles of this phenomenon, but the
serpent is still alive and we must continue the struggle with
greater definition and certainty, steadily toward the heads.
—President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, speech at the celebration of
the 115th anniversary of the foundation of the national police,
Novem ber 9, 2006
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself
does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an
abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
—Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Contents
List of Tables ix
Preface xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
I. His tori cal Background to the Colombian State in 2006
1. The Concepts of the State and State Building 7
2. State Building in Colombia before 1998 15
3. The Immediate Context: The Andrés Pastrana Presidency and Álvaro
Uribe’s First Term 42
II. The Legitimate Monopoly of Force Challenge
4. Violence and Human Rights during the Second Uribe Term 63
5. Failure with Guerilla Groups during the Second Uribe Term 85
III. The Justice Challenge
6. The Conflicts of President Uribe with the Judicial Branch 107
7. Enforcement of the Law of Justice and Peace 118
8. Unsolved Problems after the Paramilitary Demobilization: Parapolítica and
New Emerging Bands 132
viii
IV. Into the Abyss?
9. The Difficulties Coming from Allowing the Ends to Justify the
Means 151
Conclusion 174
Epilogue 191
Notes 201
Selected Bibliography 233
Index 241
Tables
2.1. Average num ber of human rights violations in Colombia, 1982–90,
according to the Inter-A meri can Commission on Human Rights 39
2.2. Comparison of human rights violations in Colombia in the Barco and
Gaviria years, according to the Comisión Intercongregacional de Justicia
y Paz 39
4.1. Levels of violence during the Álvaro Uribe Vélez presidency, according to
the National Planning Department 67
4.2. Levels of violence, Janua ry–Oc tob er 2002–9, according to the Fundación
Seguridad y Democracia 69
4.3. Levels of homicide and kidnapping 2002–10, according to the Ministry
of Defense 70
4.4. Acts of war 2002–10, according to the Ministry of Defense 71
4.5. Human rights violations during the Uribe years, according to the Centro
de Investigación y Educación Popul ar 79
6.1. Chronology of the arguments between President Uribe and the Supreme
Court 111
8.1. Information about the presence of emerging criminal bands in 2010 144
E.1. Comparison of the numb er of troops of the Colombian Armed Forces
and the FARC, 1999 and 2012 195