Sergio Jaramillo points to one of the many maps that grace the walls of his office inside Bogotá’s labyrinthine ministry of defence complex. The vice minister of defence draws an imaginary line across the country, saying “Fifty-five per cent of Colombian territory is supposed to be on the right of that, and only five per cent of the population – and that’s where most of the problem was.”
The democratic security policy Mr Jaramillo helped shape in response to soaring violent crime, kidnappings and a voracious narcotics trade grounded in these sparsely populated jungle and rural areas was based on the premise that regaining control of this lawless fringe was crucial to ensuring the security of all Colombians.
