United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
The AUC was established as an umbrella organization to oppose leftist insurgents. The roots of the AUC can be traced back to the regional self-defense groups of the 1950s. Wealthy landowners commissioned local militia to protect their land and business interests from leftist groups. The militias grew in the 1980s with extensive funding from the drug cartels. The Medellin and Cali cartels funded militias to protect their coca and poppy fields from guerrillas trying to levy "taxes" on...