The paramilitary movement in Colombia has been in existence since the 1950's, a decade filled with such horrendous fighting between insurgent guerrilla groups and well-armed, conservative vigilante groups that it became known as La Violencia (The Violence).

Since then, paramilitary activity as been a constant component in Colombia's ongoing war, despite various attempts by the government to deny its existence in recent years. The paramilitary groups in Colombia are very powerful, usually funded by extreme right-wing conservative land owners and business men who want to maintain the status quo of Colombia, which puts the tremendous wealth of the country's abundant natural resources (oil, emeralds, coal, etc..)in the hands of a very small ruling class.

Paramilitary groups are often organized by large rural landowners. Many times rural villages are targeted by these groups because natural resources have been discovered nearby; the paramilitaries will come in, kill or run-off most of the village inhabitants, and appropriate the land.

Recently the Colombian government has tried to distance itself from paramilitaries; previous governments had - sometimes openly and sometimes clandestinely - used the paramilitaries for actions too violent for the National Army to carry out. But many of the paramilitary groups, instead of dissipating as the government wished, have continued to attack rural villages at will. Of course, how much the government secretly encourages these acts is openly disputed.