A Belated "Mea Culpa"

Colombia's President has apologized to the family of victims of a 2000 massacre by a paramilitary and right-wing group. The killing of rebels or people who are deemed their sympathizers is a tragedy all too frequent in Latin American history. Governments on the right and center of the political spectrum seem to feel justified in doing just about anything to "stop communism or socialism." So, these paramilitary groups -- very often closely associated with the military -- have the government's blessing to do what it can't do officially. Add the fact that, invariably, those groups are either financed or helped in all sorts of ways by the U.S., and it explains how they are able to carry on with  impunity.

So, it's all well and good that the government -- this one and all the others throughout the region --  recognizes the crimes and sins of the past, but everyone would be better served if it really stopped using such groups to do a big part of its dirty work.

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