Leftist rebels have been waging guerrilla warfare against the Colombian government for more than three decades. At the same time, violence linked to Colombia's thriving drug trade has also fettered the South American nation.
The rebels have rejected peace overtures from President Ernesto Samper's government, accusing it of trying to bring them to the peace table by force.
Between the leftist insurgency and the drug trade, violence has claimed 35,000 civilian lives over the last decade.
Land and People | History |
| Financial | Weather
DEMOGRAPHICS
- Population:
- 37,418,290
- Average life span:
- 70 male, 76 female
- Average income ($US):
- $1,500 (does not include drug trafficking, which would increase this figure by 25%)
- GDP per capita ($US):
- $5,300
- Literacy rate:
- 91%
THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
- Capital:
- Bogota
- Size:
- 440,831 square miles
- (1,141,748 sq. km)(Between the size of Texas and Alaska)
- Government type:
- Republic
- Political leaders:
- President Ernesto Samper Pizano
- Religions:
- Roman Catholic (95%)
- Languages:
- Spanish (official)
HISTORY
- pre-1530s -- Ruled by indigenous Chibcha peoples and the Funza and Tunja kingdoms.
- 1538 -- Spain conquers the region, establishes the colony of "New Granada."
- 1819 -- Armies led by Simon Bolivar defeat Spanish royalist forces.
- 1821 -- Independence.
- 1899-1903 -- Civil war leads to the loss of Panama.
- 1948-1958 -- "La Violencia," a period of chaotic insurrection and banditry, claims 200,000 lives.
- 1958 -- Military junta restores order through civil repression.
- 1993 -- Notorious Medellin drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar killed by government troops
- 1996 -- Legislature votes not to impeach President Samper after charges surfaced that he had accepted drug money from the Cali drug cartel in his 1994 campaign
FINANCIAL
- Monetary unit:
- Peso
CNN currency converter
CNN WEATHER INFORMATION
- Forecasts:
- --Bogota
- --Cali
- --Cartagena
- --Medellin
- Forecast and satellite maps:
- --South America forecast map
- --South America satellite image