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Colombia Crime and Political Violence
The rising crime rate reflected an increase in
politically
motivated violence as well as criminal violence. During
the
Betancur administration's temporary cease-fire with the
guerrillas
in 1985, less than 10 percent of the crimes committed were
adjudged
related to political violence. However, following the
abandonment
of the cease-fire later that year by all but one of the
nation's
guerrilla groups, the incidence of political violence
again began
to increase. This trend continued throughout the latter
half of the
1980s. Moreover, the increase in other forms of crime
during the
same period made this statistic on political violence less
meaningful in absolute terms. Throughout the first ten
months of
1987, political leaders were being killed by death squads
at a rate
of about 100 per month.
Data published by the Colombian government in 1987
estimated
that nearly 80 percent of the crimes committed in the
nation went
unreported. In turn, of the 20 percent reported to the
authorities,
only 1 percent resulted in conviction and sentencing. In
addition
to the poor conviction rate, the administration of
criminal justice
was complicated by the mounting backlog of cases. In 1983
about 80
percent of those held in the country's prison system were
awaiting
trial. At that time, there were nearly 400,000 new penal
cases each
year, and the average load of 600 cases per judge was
rising. In
June 1983, the Colombian Institute of Penal Reform
determined that
the number of criminal cases awaiting adjudication
exceeded 1.3
million
(see The Judiciary
, ch. 4).
Among the crimes plaguing the nation, drug abuse was
considered
to be a serious, escalating problem in the late 1980s
(see Drugs and Society
, ch. 2). Illegal domestic narcotics
consumption also
appeared to be related to the rise in such other crimes as
theft
and murder. The circulation of other forms of contraband
through
the nation also challenged law enforcement authorities. By
1984
Medellín, the center of Colombia's narcotics trade, also
had
established its reputation as the country's contraband
capital. In
Medellín a wide range of items, from guns and emeralds to
methaqualone and United States cigarettes, was sold on the
black
market.
Data as of December 1988
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