Bert Ruiz' "The Colombian Civil War"

A good resource

Having researched and analyzed the hoards of information available on the state of affairs in Colombia as well as the U.S. role in this mess for more than seven years in the States and in Colombia, it is safe for me to say that Bert Ruiz' "The Colombian Civil War" (McFarland &Co. Inc.) proves to be a good, compact resource including mostly traditional and some very creative resources in one book.

Appropriate layout

Despite the present onslaught of books on the matter, Ruiz' research was done before, meaning that his resources were newspapers, magazines, documents and interviews. Thus, the two-column presentation, simulating periodicals, is very appropriate. Ruiz appropriately includes all involved in the Colombian conflict, not the narcos, guerrilla and paramilitaries alone, but the Colombian elite, their lawmakers as well as the international community, specifically the U.S. Government.

Your tax dollars

He uses his well-researched writing to inform not only the northern academic community of Latin Americanists, but also through a unique writing style he offers those who are not up-to-date on the situation in Colombia an accessible reading to know what the U.S. elected officials are doing with over $1 billion of their tax dollars by way of Plan Colombia. It's a must-read for anyone remotely interested in the Colombian conflict and the direction of the above-mentioned money. Unfortunately, the book lacks an introduction and some well-needed sub-headings for Ruiz' ten chapters. Important historical information is splashed throughout the chapters bringing us up to the present-day state, maintaining a good and interesting pace. However, Ruiz went into too much detail, stumbling a bit, on Roosevelt's seizure of Panama. On other occasions Ruiz chose to go into more detail than necessary, however at the same time adding more of his own insights by doing so, otherwise saving his personal analyses for the afterword.

Gaitán

During his recounts of one of the most important days in Colombian history, April 9, 1948, Ruiz shares his opinion and other theories behind the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Lamentably, he excluded today's biggest researcher on the Gaitán assassination, Paul Wolf.

What about the north?

Ruiz also dedicates a great deal of his writing to the "war on drugs" and diplomacy, discussing too briefly the topics of consumption, legalization or the control of chemicals used to produce narcotics from the coca leaf, topics which must be dealt with from the north, yet are extremely important issues regarding the future of Colombia. The author provides the points of views from Washington and Bogotá well regarding the "war on drugs'" certification process, but there is very little mention of the contradictions from Washington, and surprisingly none of Ex-President Clinton's clemencies as he left office. Adding another surprise he dedicated two pages to Colombia's assassinated beloved comic, journalist and political activist, Jaime Garzón.

Notes

Ruiz provides extensive endnotes and bibliography, hopefully tantalizing the American and international public into learning more about the situation in Colombia, the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in recent years.