Opinion

Don’t overlook the tragic losses in Colombia’s brutal war

The Sept. 19 front-page article “U.S. intervention helped turn the tide in Colombia” left out much of the human tragedy that accompanied the U.S.-funded military and counternarcotics strategy.

From 2000, when Plan Colombia was launched, to 2013, nearly 4 million people were internally displaced. Six million Colombians became victims of the conflict. Brutal paramilitary violence was at times aided and abetted by members of the Colombian armed forces and politicians. More than 1,000 trade unionists were murdered. And more than 4,000 Colombians, mainly poor young men, allegedly were murdered by members of the Colombian armed forces and dressed in guerrilla clothing — an event which received front-page coverage in The Post in 2008 . This vicious practice peaked at the high-water mark of U.S. assistance, from 2004 to 2008.