The massacres that have defined Colombias armed conflict

written by Adriaan Alsema October 11, 2017

Thursday’s massacre in southwest Colombia’s Tumaco is only one of more than 2,000 that have marked the country’s political history of the past century.

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Many of the massacres were committed in the armed conflict between Marxist guerrilla groups and the state. Others marked key events leading up to the extreme violence Colombia is now trying to move away from.

1. The banana massacre (1928)

The 1928 banana massacre is possibly the deadliest mass killing in the history of Colombia. It took place 20 years before “La Violencia,” but is often cited as an important precursor.

Nobody knows how many people were killed in the massacre near the Caribbean city of Santa Marta. Between 47 and 3,000 striking employees of US banana firm United Fruit Company were killed when the conservative government sent in the army to break up a strike that was supported by liberals, socialists and communists.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/massacres-defined-colombias-armed-conflict/