{"product_id":"9781583673089","title":"Cocaine, Death Squads, and the War on Terror: U.S. Imperialism and Class Struggle in Colombia","description":"\u003cp\u003eSince the late 1990s, the United States has funneled billions of dollars  in aid to Colombia, ostensibly to combat the illicit drug trade  and State Department-designated terrorist groups. The result has  been a spiral of violence that continues to take lives and destabilize  Colombian society. This book asks an obvious question: are the official  reasons given for the wars on drugs and terror in Colombia  plausible, or are there other, deeper factors at work?\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eScholars Villar and Cottle suggest that the answers lie in a close  examination of the cocaine trade, particularly its class dimensions.  Their analysis reveals that this trade has fueled extensive economic  growth and led to the development of a “narco-state” under the  control of a “narco-bourgeoisie” which is not interested in eradicating  cocaine but in gaining a monopoly over its production. The  principal target of this effort is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of  Colombia (FARC), who challenge that monopoly as well as the very  existence of the Colombian state. Meanwhile, U.S. business interests  likewise gain from the cocaine trade and seek to maintain a dominant,  imperialist relationship with their most important client state  in Latin America. Suffering the brutal consequences, as always, are  the peasants and workers of Colombia. This revelatory book punctures  the official propaganda and shows the class war underpinning  the politics of the Colombian cocaine trade.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Monthly Review Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47166807343344,"sku":"9781583673089","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781583673089_p0.jpg?v=1763784350","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781583673089","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}