Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading  Processing Request

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Research Starters
  • Additional Information
    • Abstract:
      Summary: The United Self-Defense Forces (known by its Spanish acronym AUC) was organized in 1997 as a coalition of paramilitary organizations combating left-wing guerrillas, notably FARC. Part of AUC's initial role was protecting drug dealers—from peasants growing coca to refiners and traffickers in cocaine—from "taxes" extorted by FARC. AUC thus became closely linked to the Colombian drug trade. In 2000, after the launch of Plan Colombia, AUC splintered over whether to continue military operations or to become a political party. The organization agreed to disband in 2003. The government of Colombia says AUC no longer exists, although several thousand former AUC fighters have joined criminal gangs that remain active. At the arraignment of an extradited AUC leader in May 2008, the US attorney described AUC as a paramilitary organization with 15,000 fighters.