Abstract

TREJOS ROSERO, Luis Fernando; GUZMAN, Jolie; BADILLO SARMIENTO, Reynell  and  NIEBLES NUNEZ, Leonardo. Armed patronage in Barranquilla: The José Pablo Díaz Front´s Case (2003-2006). Justicia [online]. 2020, vol.25, n.37, pp.49-70. ISSN 0124-7441.  https://doi.org/10.17081/just.25.37.4129.

Although the modus operandi of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC from its Spanish initials) in the city of Barranquilla was motivated primarily by the control of the drug trafficking market and other activities related to organized crime, this armed group was capable of permeating the public institutions and to co-opt state officials. This article analyzes these dynamics of co-opted State reconfiguration in order to comprise in which way armed patronage affected the institutional structure of the city and extracted public funds from the local administration with the aim of financing the AUC´s criminal activity. It was found that the José Pablo Díaz front was an intermediary among a great part of the political and electoral relations, and that there was a complementary relation between the armed group and some politicians in the city. AUC financed electoral campaigns in exchange for public contracts, concessions, support for laws that will benefit the armed group and the possibility to execute criminal actions in Barranquilla without any major opposition by the State.

Keywords : political corruption; organized crime; armed patronage; United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC); co-opted State reconfiguration.

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