On guerrilla justice in Colombia. Analyzing challenges facing the political transition within an insurgent controlled region (The Amazon Piedemonte case)

Abstract

The justice system of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) not only defines the social practices of the local communities where the guerrillas have control of, but it also determines how community members solve their conflicts and issues. Upon an imminent peace agreement between the Colombian government and the insurgency, the political transition in the guerrilla controlled regions is a central negotiation topic in La Habana, Cuba. To better manage possible discussions on community justice during and after the transitional and the post-conflict processes, this article introduces some relevant variables on the nature and direction of the guerrilla justice system. This work is the product of an ethnographic study of the Amazon Piedemonte region, and it helps –from an empirical stance– to analyze the social conditions that have allowed to legitimize the guerrilla justice system, social responses, as well as to make sense the consequences.