The Para-State: An Ethnography of Colombia's Death Squads

261 Pages·2015·3.335 MB·English

by  Aldo Civico

The Para-State
AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF
COLOMBIA’S DEATH SQUADS
Aldo Civico
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
The Para-State

The Para-State
AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF
COLOMBIA’S DEATH SQUADS
Aldo Civico
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit
www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2016 by Th e Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Civico, Aldo, author.
Th e para-state : an ethnography of Colombia’s death squads / Aldo Civico.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-28851-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-28852-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-96340-5 (ebook)
1. Death squads—Colombia. 2. Paramilitary forces—
Colombia. I. Title. II. Title: Ethnography of Colombia’s death squads.
hv6322.3.c7c58 2016
986.106ʹ35—dc23
2015022453
Manufactured in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and
sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures
Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the
minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of
Paper).
To my parents, Irmi and Domenico, and to my nieces and
nephew, Caterina, Margherita, and Riccardo

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Prologue: From the Field Journal xv
Introduction 1
1 • “Everything I Did in the Name of Peace” 26
2 • Fragments from the Shadows of War 55
3 • Limpieza: Th e Expenditure of Spectacular Violence 89
4 • An Ethnography of Cocaine 119
5 • Th e Intertwinement 143
6 • Demobilization and the Unmasking of the State 176
Conclusion 202
Notes 211
References 223
Index 231
Caribbean Sea
Barranquilla
Cartagena
P A N A M A
M
aged V E N E Z U E L A
el
n
Tarazá Ra
vi
ANTIOQUIA er
Puerto Berrío
Medellín
Puerto Boyacá
Pacif ic
Ocean Bogotá
C O L O M B I A
Cali
B R A Z I L
E C U A D O R
P E R U
N
0 100 miles
0 100 kilometers
Caribbean Sea
Magdelena
River
Capurganá
Sapzurro
Caucásia
Cáceres
Tarazá
Yarumal
A N T I O Q U I A gdelena River
San Roque a
M Puerto Berrío
Medellín San Carlos
Granada
Santuario
San Luis
Puerto
Boyacá
N
0 50 miles
0 50 kilometers