With a staff of 15 lawyers he investigated 3000 cases last year of human rights violations and fired 2500 people. He said that since the judicial system is unreliable at determining the truth, the media and international investigations have become critically important. Much of Colombia is rugged mountains with poor transportation. Many peasants have become dependent of the drug trade for survival since it is the only crop they can get to market from their small remote farms. Military and civilian officials are bribed, intimidated and killed.
Young men join the cartels for quick easy money.
US attempts to train Colombian military forces to fight narcotics traffic have been ineffective. Conflicting political ideologies often show up as violent conflicts over land. Land has historically been the source of power for Colombia s very wealthy upper class. In Bogota, we visited a site where ownership of the land was in dispute. Witnesses said three people were killed.