Colombia

1. By: David Elie and Karyn Werner Colombia

2. Importance • Colombia is important because Colombia's major exports are coffee and cocaine.

3. Location • Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama

4. Geographic Characteristics • Five main natural regions that present their own unique characteristics, from the Andes mountain range region shared with Ecuador and Venezuela; the Pacific Ocean coastal region shared with Panama and Ecuador; the Caribbean Sea coastal region shared with Venezuela and Panama; the Llanos (plains) shared with Venezuela; to the Amazon Rainforest region shared with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. Colombia is one of only two South American countries which border both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

5. GNP (Gross National Production) • In 2005 the GNP was billion dollars

6. Culture • Diverse and very colorful. • Colombia culture bears the influences of several other cultures. Apart from the original and culture of the native people, there have been lots of other European races living in Colombia and all of them has colored the main culture of this South American country, Colombia

7. Religion • 81% Roman Catholic. • 13.5% Protestants • 1.9% No religious beliefs • 2.3% Jewish

8. Form of Goverment • republic; executive branch dominates government structure

9. People in Power today • Presdent: Alvaro Uribe

10. Historical events • Colombia is a country with a rich history that has shaped the lives of millions through the years.  Colombia today is a reflection of what its men and women decided during their distant and recent past. • In order to highlight some of those unique moments, a group of  English teachers involved in a course in new technologies in Colombia put pen to paper and depicted some salient times gone by. The following is what this devoted group accomplished.

11. Background • Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A four-decade long conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) heavily funded by the drug trade, escalated during the 1990s. The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government and violence has been decreasing since about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and large areas of the countryside are under guerrilla influence or are contested by security forces. More than 31,000 former paramilitaries had demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) as a formal organization had ceased to function. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, emerging criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative departments. However, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.

12. Conflicts • President Hugo Chavez's government is sending 15,000 soldiers to the border with Colombia, saying the military buildup is needed to increase security, combat drug trafficking and root out paramilitary groups.