Colombia and the United States

Every year, the United States spends millions of dollars to help the war--ravaged country of Colombia. But help it with what? In Colombia & the United States, Mario A. Murillo and Jesus Avirama explores the devastating impact that misdirected U.S. military "aid"-under the banner of "the war on drugs"-continues to have on the people of Colombia. They argue that the conflict in Colombia is not about drugs, nor guerillas, nor "terrorism," but rather about the unwillingness of the country's elite to open up spaces for truly democratic development. Mario Murillo is the author of Islands of Resistance: Puerto Rico, Vieques and U.S. Policy. Jesus Avirama, a member of the indigenous Kokonuco people, is a longtime activist.

MARIO ALFONSO MURILLO is a professor at the School of Communication at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and teaches media studies courses at New York University. A veteran radio journalist, he has reported extensively about Colombia and Latin America, producing award-winning programs and documentaries for the Pacifica Radio Network and National Public Radio. He is author of Islands of Resistance: Puerto Rico, Vieques, and U.S. Policy (2001). He lives in New York City.