TY - JOUR PY - 2015// TI - State, illegality, and territorial control Colombian armed groups in Ecuador under the Correa government JO - Latin American perspectives A1 - Forero, Jorge Enrique SP - 238 EP - 251 VL - 43 IS - 1 N2 - The inevitable incursion of Colombian armed groups into Ecuador remained at low levels for decades, but in the late 1990s the United States increased its level of engagement in the conflict and the Colombian government permitted the expansion of paramilitaries into the South of the country. While Rafael Correa's Plan Ecuador privileged economic development in the border region as a way of promoting peace there, the massacre by the Colombian military in Angostura (SucumbĂ­os) in March 2008 led to an increase in military spending and increasing violations of the human rights of the region's people. Socioeconomic conditions remain favorable to the expansion of the paramilitary organizations, linked to drug trafficking, gasoline smuggling, and other illegal activities. Without the resurrection of Plan Ecuador, their presence will continue to threaten the sovereignty of the state and the consolidation of its progressive national project.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0094-582X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0094582X15571274 ID - ref1 ER -