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Patria Boba (1810 - 1815)
The name "Patria Boba" was introduced by Antonio Nariño to ironically refer to the period between the declaration of Independence (July 1810) and the beginning of the Spanish reconquest by Pablo Morillo (1815). The main cause of this period is due to an internal dispute between federalists and centralists, and the main consequence is the instability of the nation, since independence had not been consolidated. -
Guerra de los supremos (1839 - 1842)
The War of the Supremes was an armed conflict that took place in New Granada, present-day Colombia, between 1839 and 1842. According to historians, it was the first civil war since the independence of the territory, just a few years after the dissolution of Gran Colombia. The conflict pitted the central government, presided over by José Antonio Márquez, against several regional caudillos. These called themselves "supreme", which gave the war its name. -
Guerra de los mil dias (1899 - 1902)
This War is considered one of the most definitive episodes in the history of Colombia. This conflict was characterized by different political and ideological structures, which were one of the main causes of this conflict and triggered others throughout history. The war began on October 17, 1899, when the Liberal Party rose up against the government of Manuel Sanclemente. During this war, the conservatives triumphed over the liberals and initiated a 30-year period called "Conservative Hegemony". -
Oposición en los 40
That opposition that emerged in the 40s will be a belligerent opposition in defense of both, on the one hand, the idea of legitimate violence against abuses of power, and on the other hand, the practice of the Attack. In this way, armed groups outside the law were organized, seeking to paralyze the electoral participation of liberalism, and then subtracting the difference in votes by killing the opponent. -
Bogotazo
The assassination of Liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948, in Bogotá, at the hands of Juan Roa Sierra, provoked popular uprisings throughout the country. In Bogota, massive looting took place and several buildings in the city center were reduced to rubble. The events of that day are considered one of the most violent moments in the city's history. Due to its severity and the high levels of violence, the government decreed a state of siege to deal with the events. -
Asesinato del líder liberal Jorge Eliecer Gaitán
Gaitan was born on January 23, 1903. He was a Colombian political leader who was fervently dedicated to the struggle for the vindication of the people and against the ruling classes, who deceived the citizens with a façade of bipartisanship of national unity. He was assassinated on April 9, 1948, which generated the so-called "Bogotazo", where clashes broke out between liberal and conservative supporters. At least 3,000 people were killed or missing. -
Laureano Gomez (1950 - 1953)
The Liberal Political Party did not participate in the 1950 elections due to a lack of guarantees. This facilitated the victory of the Conservative Political Party led by Laureano". Gómez, who continued and deepened the security policy of his predecessor in the face of partisan violence, which did not include negotiation with the Liberal Political Party ". -
Oposición al poder militar de Laureano Gómez
The Liberal Political Party, not entirely free of internal controversy, took the decision to promote guerrillas to oppose the military power of the Gómez government. In addition to the Liberal guerrillas, operating mainly in the Eastern Plains area, different types of irregular armed groups were created in several regions. The failure of government policies and the distrust inspired by some of Gómez's personal attitudes led to the loss of support from many members of his own party. -
General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (1953 - 1957
In 1953, the political class relied on the military to stage a coup. The power was assumed by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. When the political leaders of the country and the social sectors opposed to the regime considered that the General's government should end and not be prolonged, they promoted a strike that forced the General's retirement. The power was assumed by a transitional political committee with the idea of reestablishing the traditional democratic political system of the Republic. -
Frente Nacional (1958 - 1974)
The leaders of the Liberal and Conservative Political Parties agreed that during a new transition period, which would extend for the next four terms, known as Alternation or National Front, was reflected in a Treaty signed in Sitges in 1953. The National Front agreement, which was enshrined in the Constitution in 1957 through a plebiscite, strictly ensured that neither Liberals nor Conservatives would be excluded from power while opening the way for possible new political parties. -
Guillermo León Valencia (1962 - 1966)
During the government of Guillermo Leon Valencia, second president of the National Front, and due to the concern for the existence of some of the so-called "Independent Republics" which were 6 within the country, the president ordered the Army to bring those republics and reestablish authority. -
El nacimiento de las fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)
In 1964 and after the government of Guillermo Valencia declared the peasant communities as "Independent Republics" and as subversive communists, the Colombian army launched against them the largest extermination operation. It was "Operation Sovereignty" the guerrillas led by Manuel Marulanda Velez, alias "Tiro-fijo" managed to defeat the military encirclement then becoming a guerrilla army of the FARC, which became a clear roadmap for the seizure of political power through the use of armaments. -
Ejercito de Liberación Nacional (ELN)
On July 4, 1964, shortly after the founding of the FARC, the Youth of the Liberal Revolutionary Movement (JMRL) - a split from the Liberal Party -, and the Liberation Brigade named José Antonio Galán, composed of young university students along with members of the Peasant, Student and Workers Movement (MOEC) merged and founded the National Liberation Army (ELN), inspired by the success of the Cuban. On January 7, 1965, the ELN began its activities as a guerrilla group. -
Surgimiento de los grupos de Autodefensas
On December 25, 1965, the government of Guillermo León Valencia issued Decree 3398, which allowed the military to issue arms for the private use of the Armed Forces to civilians and to form armed self-defense groups coordinated by the army. Since 1969 a series of Counter-Guerrilla Manuals and Regulations were issued by the Colombian Army, which would evidence the creation of paramilitary groups under the approval of the Colombian Government. -
Grupo guerrillero las FARC
In 1966 the FARC presents itself as a guerrilla group. In January 1966, the Communist Party in the X Plenary sponsored the constitution of the FARC as a guerrilla group. The FARC was born of the Second Conference of the Southern Guerrilla Group, as part of a Democratic Front for National Liberation. -
Ideologia de las FARC
In the political arena of the FARC, the Agrarian Program of the Guerrilla acquires a significant importance becoming the main battle flag of this political-military organization. its in the Guerrilla Agrarian Program or Guerrilla Government Program that the FARC clearly defines its ideological and political conception referring to its medium and long term goals for the conquest of absolute political power on the part of the working masses, all tending to building a socialist society in Colombia. -
Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL)
The Popular Liberation Army (EPL) (People's Popular Army) has its origin in the foundation of the Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist), product of the deep division of the International Communist Party. Pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese (Maoist) movement, which occurred during the first half of the 1960s. The PCC (ML), founded on July 20, 1965 and led by Leon Arboleda, Jesus Alzate and Francisco Garcia, gave birth to its guerrilla force on December 17, 1967. -
Combates del EPL
In January 1968, the EPL began fighting when a military patrol was annihilated by one of its guerrilla groups in the department of Córdoba. Soon after, the Communist Party of Colombia and its armed wing, the EPL, proclaimed their will to build a liberation of the patriotic front to lead and promote an alliance between workers and peasants with the purpose of taking and exercising the revolutionary political power through armed struggle. -
Grupos Narcotraficantes
The first groups of drug traffickers emerged in the country. Present mainly in Medellín (Pablo Escobar, his cousin and brothers), in Valle del Cauca with the Henao brothers and José Rafael Abello Silva on the Atlantic Coast. Known at the time as the nouveau riche of Colombia, due to their control of the business and the economic benefits of their networks in North America. -
Movimiento 19 de Abril (M-19)
For the last presidential term of the National Front, the official conservative candidate of the National Front, Misael Pastrana, faced the independent conservative candidate of the National Front, former president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. In the elections of April 19, 1970, Pastrana won under numerous allegations of fraud. This prompted several university students to later join the Movimiento 19 de Abril, M-19, an insurgent group that became known after a publicity campaign in the press in 1974. -
Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978 - 1982)
During the government of Julio César Turbay Ayala, a national security policy was promoted. As a result, several leaders and members of the revolutionary groups were imprisoned, but most remained active. In 1980, the M-19 seized the Embassy of the Dominican Republic, as a demonstration of their capacity to act. Finally, the seizure of the Embassy was peacefully negotiated and the participants of the M-19 left for exile in Cuba. -
Paramilitarismo y grupo de autodefensas
At the end of 1982, merchants, ranchers, and farmers from Puerto Boyacá met in Medellín to organize and defend themselves against the guerrillas. there, the self-defense groups ceased to be protectors of land and lives to become gangs defending the private interests of landowners affected by the guerrillas. during this time, they wanted to project the image of groups legitimately defending the large estates and the people, with a clear anti-insurgent vocation. -
Belisario Betancur (1982-1986)
The government of Belisario Betancur had a rapprochement and a truce with the armed insurgent groups. The failure of these negotiations due to political differences between different sectors of the government and political groups caused a rupture and the subsequent seizure of the Palace of Justice in 1985 by the M-19, which culminated in the death of several of the civilian detainees as a result of an offensive operation by the army and the armed resistance of the guerrilla occupants. -
Asesinato de Rodrigo Lara Bonilla
Minister of Justice Lara is assassinated by two assassins in Bogota. After his funeral, the president of the republic, Belisario Betancourt, announces the reactivation of the extradition treaty. This would be the declaration of war between the state and drug traffickers. As the years went by, it became clear that Pablo Escobar, head of the 'Medellín' cartel and considered the most bloodthirsty drug trafficker in the country's history, was the one who ordered the assassination of Lara Bonilla. -
Toma del Palacio de Justicia
The seizure of the Palace of Justice, known as Operation Antonio Nariño for the Rights of Man, was an assault perpetrated in Bogota, Colombia, on Wednesday, November 6, 1985, by a commando of guerrillas of the April 19th Movement (M-19) to the Palace of Justice. The M-19 held about 350 hostages including magistrates, state councilors, judicial servants, employees, and visitors to the Palace of Justice. The operation to retake the operation lasted until Thursday, November 7, 1985. -
Virgilio Barco (1986 - 1990)
The government of Virgilio Barco promoted a policy of "Pulso Firme y Mano Extendida", which was echoed in the M-19, initiating a demobilization process that culminated in 1990. After its demobilization on March 8, 1990, it became a political movement, as a democratic left, known as Alianza Democrática M-19 (AD-M-19), and was one of the most important political forces in the National Constituent Assembly of 1991. -
Asesinato de Luis Carlos Galán
Galán Was a Colombian politician. Proclaimed presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, he fell victim to a deadly attack on August 18, 1989, his political participation in the country was characterized by rebelliousness and constructive criticism. He pledged to fight corruption and clientelism. His greatest challenge was to confront drug trafficking, he became the target of violence promoted by drug lords, who are attributed to be responsible for his assassination. -
Desmovilizacion M - 19
On March 9, 1990, in Caloto, Cauca, the first peace agreement was signed between a guerrilla group and the Colombian State. The M19 had declared that war was not the solution and resolved to lay down their arms in a negotiation with the government of Virgilio Barco. After its demobilization, it became a political movement, as a democratic left, known as Alianza Democrática M-19, and was one of the most important political forces in the National Constituent Assembly of 1991. -
Cartel de Medellin
In the early 1990s, it is estimated that the Medellín cartel controls and distributes 95% of the cocaine to the United States and other countries. In addition, there are reports of drug traffickers infiltrating state institutions and consolidating alliances between them and illegal groups. -
Muerte de Pablo Escobar
On December 2, 1993, one day after his 44th birthday, Escobar was cornered by the armed forces and threats against his family. The Colombian drug lord was responsible for at least 600 civilian deaths, kidnappings, drug trafficking and other crimes. His death meant the end of the Medellín Cartel and of narcoterrorism as a belligerent actor, and is one of the most celebrated victories of the Colombian government against drug trafficking. -
Proceso de Negociación del Caguán (1999 - 2002)
The Caguán negotiations were an attempt by the guerrilla group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and the government of President Andrés Pastrana to begin a peace process and end the armed conflict in Colombia. Andrés Pastrana to begin a peace process to end Colombia's armed conflict. The peace process was carried out between 1998 and 2002, with negotiations beginning in 1997. The dialogue process was accompanied by the governments of several countries. -
Proceso de Negociación con las FARC
President Juan Manuel Santos announces new peace talks with the rebels. The process begins two months later in Oslo, Norway, and later moves to Havana. -
Firma del Acuerdo de Paz con las FARC
After more than fifty years of armed conflict with the FARC, the Peace Accord puts an end to violence with that guerrilla group. The Agreement seeks to prevent more victims and to concentrate all efforts on building stable and lasting peace. FARC committed to hand over all their weapons to the United Nations, to not commit crimes of kidnapping, extortion, or recruitment of minors, to break their links with drug trafficking, and to cease attacks on the security forces and the civilian population.
