Colombia : a brutal history / Geoff Simons.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [371]-372) and index.

The historical roots -- The struggle for stability (1903 to 1980s) -- Ravaged by the drug trade (1980s to late-1992) -- Drugs, exploitation and revolt (late-1992 to May 1994) -- The Samper question (January 1994 to October 1996) -- War by various means (September 1996 to October 1997) -- Human rights, terror and law -- Looking to Washington (October 1997 to May 1998) -- Pastrana to power (May 1998 to October 1999) -- The US involvement -- War without end? (November 1999 to September 2001) -- War on terrorism? (September 2001 to?) -- Appendices: Agreed agenda for peace talks between Colombian government and FARC rebels (6 May 1999) -- Plan Colombia -- Clinton proposal (11 January 2000) and Senate proposal (20 October 1999) in response to Plan Colombia -- Text of FARC communiqué (March 2000).

"Colombia has scarcely known one day of peace since its inception. From the time of the Spanish conquistadors up to its recent bloody and brutal elections, the Colombian people have endured immense suffering. The history of this nation is one of the world's most urgent political narratives - a story of violent drug cartels, corporate exploitation, foreign interference, paramilitary death squads and civil war - yet it has remained chronically under-told." "While such a catalogue of misery would be tragic in the case of any country, it is all the more so in light Colombia's great potential as the fifth-largest economy in Latin America. In writing this searing and insightful report, Simons does justice to a people whose verve and spirit, though pushed to extremes, remain unbroken."--Jacket.