“The 1991 Political Constitution of Colombia was adopted during a period in Colombia characterized by high levels of violence, drug trafficking, and political crisis.”

The Colombian Constitution of 1991, which is still in force among us with some important and abundant reforms especially introduced precisely in development of the Colombian fight against political, electoral and administrative corruption, on the one hand; against the organized crime of drug trafficking, on the other... This transforming task of the Constituent Assembly of 1991, had in mind the political doctrine of the liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán who had been assassinated by the Colombian drug trafficking mafias... The exceptional and extra-constitutional summons of 1990 allowed the Colombian nation to assume the duty of restructuring the State and the constitutional institutions.

Colombia is a social state under the rule of law, organized in the form of a unitary republic, decentralized, with autonomy of its territorial units. [This is the primary constitutional text adopted in 1991, reflecting the institutional framework created during the period of political crisis and violence.]

The 1991 Constitutional Assembly was formed in response to a context of profound institutional crisis, violence, and drug trafficking. The document explicitly addresses how the constitutional process emerged from a period marked by the assassination of political leaders by drug trafficking mafias and the need to establish new institutional mechanisms to combat organized crime and restore democratic legitimacy.

That crisis is characterized by weakened state institutions, loss of effective state control over vast, though remote, areas of the country, and intense violence—generated by drug traffickers, guerrillas, the military and the police, shadowy death squads, and common criminals. A central element in understanding the nature of Colombia's contemporary crisis, is the core topic of this book: drug trafficking. Colombia probably would have experienced political turmoil in the 1980s even without the additional violence, corruption and other social and economic consequences generated by drug trafficking.

Twenty years later, the country has changed: although it continues to have enormous problems with social and political violence, no one seriously doubts anymore the stability of its institutions. How did Colombia avoid falling into the abyss? This article argues that the 1991 Constitution-making process... addressed violence in at least three ways: first, it solidified a broad consensus on the importance of peace, democracy and a robust Bill of Rights. Secondly, it set the stage for lasting peace with four guerrilla groups... Thirdly, the nearly unanimous decision to include the prohibition of extradition in the Constitution enabled the government to reduce the scale of its war against the Medellin cartel.

From the early 1980s onwards there was a growing level of drug-related violence against public officials, including the assassination in 1984 of the Justice Minister and four presidential candidates in the run-up to the 1990 elections. The writing of a new constitution in 1991, the first since 1886, was an attempt to address many of the above problems, including the granting of special powers to the executive to deal with civil unrest, the need for a decentralised and pluralised political landscape and constitutional guarantees.

The transformative task of the 1991 Constitutional Assembly had in mind the political doctrine of liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán, who had been assassinated by Colombian drug trafficking mafias in agreement with obscure interests executed with the complicity of some agents. The constitutional provisions established in Colombian constitutional law from the 1991 political charter correspond to the constitutional design of establishing the best and most efficient instruments of institutional and democratic struggle against the serious scourge of political corruption and organized crime, which plagued society from the great power of drug trafficking.

That crisis is characterized by weakened state institutions, loss of effective state control over vast, though remote, areas of the country, and intense violence. The current administration of President Virgilio Barco (1986-1990) has unimpeachable democratic credentials and appears to be striving sincerely to confront the country's violence and polarization with measures of institutionalization and reform. A central element in understanding the nature of Colombia's contemporary crisis is drug trafficking.

By the time the Colombian government began introducing significant reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s to help these regions and enhance political inclusion (see below), organized political violence had become an integral part of Colombian life. The assembly included the traditional political actors, but also some recently demobilized guerrillas, most important, members of the M-19... The resulting 1991 constitution, and subsequent legislation, brought extensive and sweeping changes during a process called the 'opening.'

Since the 1980s, Colombian governments, with greater or lesser degrees of commitment, have endorsed the idea of negotiation with the guerrilla movements as a way to end the armed conflict. That policy, as detailed in Chapters 1 and 3, led to peace pacts with the M-19 and other smaller guerrilla groups in the early 1990s, and to the important political reforms of the Constitution of 1991. Drug profits contributed to the rise of the paramilitary right and have helped make the leftist guerrillas rich and increasingly well armed.

Some analysts have pointed out that the 1991 Constitution's failure to achieve the political and democratic openings promised by the 1989-1991 constitutional process, and especially to consolidate peace in Colombia, reflects the gap between constitutional aspirations and the violent context in which it was created. The Constitution's fundamental purpose consisted of achieving peace, yet the complex violences that afflicted Colombia persisted.

The Cartel was responsible for horrific violence against the government throughout much of the 1980s before the leaders were either brought to justice or killed. [This source documents the sustained violence from drug trafficking organizations during the period immediately preceding the 1991 Constitution.]

The lull in drug-related violence that accompanied the passage of the 1991 Constitution which barred extradition was thus abruptly shattered in 1993... The political opening in the early 1990s coincided with a partial abatement of violence carried out by drug trafficking cartels. Drug lords who had unleashed an unprecedented wave of terrorism and violence in the late 1980s - assassinating presidential candidates and declaring open war on the state.

produced corruption, violence, and a wave of fear that deeply affected the will and capacity of political and judicial institutions to confront the leaders of the drug industry. The narcotics trade aggravated destructive tendencies already entrenched in Colombian politics... Despite the substantive advances represented by the surrender of well-known drug traffickers, the disbanding of guerrilla groups, and the new Constitution, the human rights situation in Colombia had not... shown persuasive signs of improvement. In 1991, the number of political killings and disappearances was over 3,500.

There was an explosion of violence during this period, one of the worst in Colombia's history. Three presidential candidates were assassinated... The drug cartels started to practice their own brand of terrorism to force the government to change its policy of suppressing drug trafficking and in the process created an unprecedented climate of fear and intimidation. This new brand of almost uncontrollable aggression, called 'narcoterrorism', raged on in Colombia from 1988 and 1990 virtually unchecked.

Drug trafficking also began to play an important role in Colombian national life during this period... It also resulted in the violent confrontation between the State and those involved in narcotrafficking, particularly the infamous 'Medellín Cartel,' including Pablo Escobar. This confrontation included political assassinations and other acts of violence and terrorism committed by the narcotrafficking groups against the State as a means of controlling State policy and action on issues relating to the drug trade.

Injuries related to drug traffic violence are high in Colombia, and only a small reduction was obtained after severe crime enforcement policies. The societal impact of drug-related violence has been profound, coinciding with periods of intense political and constitutional change, including the adoption of the 1991 Constitution amid ongoing armed conflict and narcoterrorism.

The 1991 Colombian Constitution was promulgated on July 4, 1991, following an extraordinary constituent assembly convened in 1990 amid extreme violence: the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán in 1989 by Medellín Cartel hitmen, ongoing guerrilla insurgencies by groups like M-19 (which demobilized to participate), paramilitary groups, and a narcoterrorism campaign by Pablo Escobar's cartel including bombings and murders of state officials.

Colombia is a social state of law, organized as a unitary, decentralized Republic, with autonomous territorial units, democratic, participatory and pluralistic. [Note: This primary constitutional text reflects reforms responding to the violent context of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including drug-related and political crises.]

CONCERNING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Article 374. The Political Constitution of Colombia may be amended by Congress, a Constituent Assembly, or by the people... [Primary source text of the 1991 Constitution, promulgated amid Colombia's crisis of violence, drug trafficking, and political instability in the late 1980s.]

In Colombia, the control and trading of arms is monopolized by the government, in conformity with Article 223 of the Political Constitution of 1991, which reflects the state's response to decades of violence fueled by drug trafficking and internal conflict during the period leading up to its adoption.

armed groups, drug-trafficking or crimes against humanity in which he or she is formally involved. [The Constitution includes provisions addressing drug-trafficking and armed violence, reflecting the context of high violence and political crisis during its adoption in 1991.]

The initial period of 1948–1991 can be considered as that of the emergence of the modern form of violence in Colombia: the period begins in 1948 with violent political conflict and culminates in the 1991 Constitution amid escalating guerrilla warfare, paramilitary activity, and the rise of powerful drug cartels.