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Realidad Política

Nasty stuff going on in Colombia, as outlined in this LA Times article. Of course, nasty stuff has been going on in Colombia for a long time, ever since folks down south figured out that the Gringos love the crack, and idealistic insurgents became heavily armed narco-trafficantes. But now throw oil on the fire, and you have a political Bingo (drugs, terrorists, oil, and corporate interests) making the case for US intervention.

U.S.-trained Colombian troops, backed by U.S. intelligence and private contractors, unleashed the offensive to stop rebel attacks on a pipeline that Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. depends on to transport oil. They also had another goal, company officials said: secure an area deep in the heart of rebel territory so Occidental could explore a new field believed to hold 20 million barrels of oil.

Of course, there's no good guys in this fight, which is what makes it so messy.

"We have to coexist in the middle of four different groups, the ELN, the FARC, the paramilitaries and now the government," said Arianis Barrera, whose husband was arrested while he was running for mayor. "It is totally traumatic."

I guess in the end, if it's only Colombians killing each other, it's not a big deal so long as oil stays cheap.