The US has long-supported a pervasive campaign of state violence in Colombia, directed against both armed insurgents and a wide range of unarmed progressive social forces. While the pretext may change from one decade to the next, the basic policies remain the same: maintain the pro-US Colombian state, protect US economic interests and preserve strategic access to oil. Colombia is now the third largest recipient of US military aid in the world, and the largest by far in Latin America. Using extensive declassified documents, this book shows that the so-called ‘war on drugs’, and now the new ‘war on terror’ in Colombia are actually part of a long-term Colombian ‘war of state terror’ that predates the end of the Cold War. US policy in practice contributes directly to the disgraceful human rights situation in Colombia today.