Since being colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century, Colombia has never known peace. After fighting for, and gaining its independence, it faced a series of bloody civil wars that tore the country apart. These tensions have increased massively in the last four decades, with the creation of rebel guerilla groups who use kidnapping and the drug trade to fund their violent war against the government and paramilitaries who only add to the killings. According to government reports, there have been over 1,976,970 internally displaced people in Colombia since 1994; the most of any Latin American country by far. While the government has increased efforts to decrease this violence, the internal war still continues today.

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