Drug wars and the indigenous

The government of Colombia has been fighting a drug war against militias and rebels for almost 40 years.

Recently, government forces have had some success in creating stability in major urban areas, but now, the fighting is radiating out into the less-settled frontiers.

That puts armed guerrillas in conflict with the region’s indigenous people, and that’s a fight Columbia’s Indian tribes seem destined to lose:

At least 27 of the groups are at risk of being eliminated because of the country’s four-decade conflict, according to the United Nations, and human rights organizations worry that the new violence is pushing even deeper into the Indians’ ancient lands.

The UN estimates that Colombia has about three million internal refugees — second in number only to Sudan.