Ecopetrol, Guerillas and Death Squads: The War for Colombia’s Oil

Colombia’s national oil company Ecopetrol, regarded as one of the best-managed state-controlled energy companies in Latin America, is still dealing with allegations of murder, extortion, and intimidation. Since the early 2000s, rumors have swirled over Ecopetrol’s financing of rightwing paramilitary militias, which suppressed leftist guerillas, quashed organized labor, and quelled community dissent against controversial energy as well as mining projects. Those events occurred at a crucial time for Colombia with the government desperate…