This controversial book maintains that in Colombia the US has long supported a pervasive campaign of state violence directed against both armed insurgents and a wide range of unarmed progressive social forces. While the context may change from one decade to the next, the basic policies remain the same: maintain the pro-US Colombian state, protect US economic interests and preserve strategic access to oil. Colombia is now the third largest recipient of US military aid in the world, and the largest by far in Latin America. Using extensive declassified documents, this book shows that the so-called "war on drugs", and now the new war on terror in Colombia are actually part of a long-term Colombian "war of state terror" that predates the end of the Cold War with US policy contributing directly to the human rights situation in Colombia today.

Doug Stokes is a lecturer in International Politics at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth, University of Wales

Introduction: Interpreting US foreign policy in Colombia
1. US objectives in Latin America during the Cold War
2. US objectives in Latin America after the Cold War
3. Installing State Terror in Colombia
4. From Communism to the War on Terror
Conclusion: Counter-insurgency, Capital and Crude