Security and Militarization in Colombia
Public security precautions and militarization in the streets are something to get used to in Colombia. I haven’t seen anything like it in any other country I’ve visited. The security issues may be common across Latin America, but the militarization sets Colombia apart (well, I’ve heard Mexico’s similar but their cops wear ski masks). You become accustomed to seeing guns everywhere you go. All kinds of guns: revolvers, shotguns, assault rifles.
Security
I’ve been to many corporate office buildings all over the city. To enter, you have to leave your identification at the front desk. Or they record your ID while taking your picture and sometimes even your fingerprint. All this just to go inside! They have X-rays for any bags you’re carrying – this is just as much to prevent laptop theft as sneaking bombs in. They’ll record the serial number of your laptop on your way in, which must match up to take it out.
There’s no protection against “illegal search and seizure” in Colombia. Street police have the right, which they often use, to demand your identification for no reason at all. I’ve never had mine with me when they’ve asked, but they always let me go. I don’t like to carry my wallet around, so I printed a photocopy of my cédula and work visa to show to the coppers.
This may seem insignificant to the Colombian reader, but first-world citizens probably think it’s intrusive or fascist to require leaving your ID just to enter an office building, or to surrender your documents to authorities with no probable cause.
And of all the world airports I’ve been to, El Dorado in Bogota is the only one that subjects everybody to a manual search of their carry-on bag.
Once in a while, the street police carry out what I’d call sweeps. There are a lot of cops and military around normally, but the number spikes so they’re everywhere for sweeps of undesirables or whatever they look for. During these times, you see teams of them on almost every block in Chapinero.
Another common scene in the city is when somebody important is getting ushered out of a neighborhood. I’ll be walking wherever when all of a sudden a motorcycled cop, siren flashing, will whiz by escorting a group of SUVs with all tinted windows. The trucks haul ass past me, always in a rush.
Militarization
Once while walking through a crowded family park on a Sunday, I saw the Brinks guys dropping off at an ATM. It’s a standard scene: one guy with the 12-guage pistol-grip shotgun (finger on the trigger) covers the other guy with the money bag, who holds his revolver up in the air at eye level (finger also on the trigger). Fingers on the trigger among whatever’s going on in the area.
The regular infantry servicemen walk around with standard machine guns. In Chico – between 72 and 100, east of 11th – live many of the country’s politicians and high-ranking generals. So those affluent neighborhoods have military with assault rifles on almost every block.
You see military with machine guns so often I have pictures.
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One day while walking past the Chamber of Commerce office in Chapinero, I saw Colombian special forces positioned on each corner of each block facing the building. I don’t know who was in the building (Uribe?), but this team with bad-ass machine guns was ready for serious urban warfare. They wore berets and different uniforms than the personnel you see every day. I looked for the guns I saw and learned they use are the Israeli IMI Tavor TAR-21, pictured below.
bad-ass artillery
I learned that force is an urban counter-terrorism unit. From the Wikipedia article about the Colombian Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas:
Due to terrorist acts conducted in cities by guerrilla groups, the Colombian Army needed a specially trained unit to deal with this threat. This unit was required to be able to both operate and co-ordinate operations with other units of the army, or from other military branches.
Then there are the super decked-out guys you see around Plaza Bolivar and sometimes on Calle 72, the financial district. They carry regular machine guns, but are different for their armor. These guys’ outfits go beyond riot gear. I assume those plates are supposed to resist bullets, shrapnel, rocks, fire, and more.
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Colombia has mandatory military service for all males. You can get out of it if you pay an amount based on your family income.
All this stuff isn’t so bad (mandatory inscription aside). You get used to it, and Colombia’s recent history certainly warrants such measures. In fact, this stuff fuels my optimism in Colombia’s increased security, which I discussed in my recent post: Why I’m Bullish on Colombia. And here’s a pretty pic of Colombian military in their nice dress uniforms:
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5 Responses to “Security and Militarization in Colombia”
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Uribe has done one hell of job. He knows there is but one way to deal with a group whose core goal is the death of your country. Kill them, or put them in prison. And contrary to first world fluffy bunnies, violence does work. For comments as to why, consult the Carhagenian Embassy.
I’d have to agree with Mike that sometimes violence does work.
There’s a really good TV special on History Channel called “Killing Pablo,” which is based on the book of the same name. It’s the story of how Pablo Escobar was pursued by the U.S. and Colombian government/military. The takeaway for me was that they didn’t start to make real progress until they decided to beat Escobar at his own game.
They started hunting down and basically exterminating anyone associated with Escobar, even holding his family hostage. This “no holds barred” tactic weakened his support structure considerably and led to his eventual demise.
It’s really difficult to defeat someone that doesn’t play by other people’s rules. Look at Kaiser Soze in “The Usual Suspects.” He was such a badass; he killed his own family so no one would be able to hold them as leverage over him.
Same thing with Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Bruce Wayne tried to find out what the Joker’s motivation was (money, power, etc.), but Alfred pointed out that the Joker’s M.O. was “to see the world burn,” — period.
I’m not saying that violence is always the answer (ex: Gandhi, MLK), but sometimes you need to use force. Even when I started studying martial arts years ago one of the first things we learned was to use our brains first. Fighting was always seen as something you do when you’ve exhausted all your options.
I guess that’s what’s happened in Colombia.
@DennisDemori
Dennis,
If you have never read the history of the Geneva Accords and the whys and wherefores of what we now refer to as the laws of war it is an illuminating investment of time. Possession of the framework of how we got here from there will not win you many brownie points with a lot of different groups of people. Interesting regardless. Puts some context around what you read about Escobar.
Mike
you’re right–this first-worlder does find the picture you’ve painted pretty chilling, all the more so because it’s probably pretty close to where my country will be in five years.
Colin,
I’ve seen some pretty hair-raising things in Israel. I used to work for an Israeli company and was lucky to get to spend some time there.
I’ll be in Bogota March 14-23, I’ll shoot you a line with more details.
Saludos,
Tony Z.