Colombia’s obstacles for peace: returning the 15% of national territory that was stolen in the war

Colombia’s obstacles for peace: returning the 15% of national territory that was stolen in the war

written by Adriaan Alsema October 17, 2016


. . .

Since Colombia’s war began escalating in 1985, approximately 8 million hectares, an area the size of Costa Rica, have been stolen and sold, leaving millions of small farmers displaced and without land to return to.

The phenomenon has been so enormous, it has become one of the significant reasons why more than half of the country’s national territory is private property of, according to the UN, only 1% of the population.

. . .

The consequent abandonment of an estimated 15% of Colombia’s national territory also proved a profitable investment or cheap expansion opportunity for ranchers, miners and large land-owners who bought the lands after they had come free.

In some cases, the same people who helped finance the formation of the AUC paramilitary group were the ones making profit of it, a phenomenon called “para-eonomics.”

More:
http://colombiareports.com/returning-colombias-15-stolen-territory-one-real-obstacles-peace/