La Violencia
La Violencia (The Violence) is a civil war in the Republic of Colombia fought between the central government, radical leftists and far-right conservatives. It began with the assassination of President Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1954. A ceasefire has been in place since 1956, and will hold until 1965, at which point conflict will resume with the participation of a fourth side, the Laureanist Second Patriotic Army, if they were ousted from the central government.
Background
On the 9th of April 1954, following a not so secret meeting to discuss Colombia joining the Organization of Free Nations, President Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was assassinated. To this day, no man knows who did the deed, though all knew to blame their enemies.
What is known, is what followed. Violent riots seized Bogotá and chaos gripped the entire nation. The length of the Caudillo's rule only boosted his popularity and subsequently, the amount of leftists who took to the streets. The National Police attempted to crack down violently on the rioters, particularly those affiliated with the right. The crackdown would, however, be hampered by Gaitán's efforts to demilitarise the police during his term, though stashes of weapons hidden by Conservatives within the city would help counter this 'mistake'. The capitol would be taken by the rebels, leaving a smouldering ruin. In the following weeks, the Bogotazo would come to an end, though the scars it left behind paralysed the government. While the government is still busy selecting a new president, the military took charge of efforts to stabilise the country by any means necessary. The answer to lifelong political grievances had been established; the Violence, as it would come to be known, was in full swing.
The leftists, after being pushed from the southwest, formed a cohesive front, the Colombian Revolutionary Union, in the east. Gilberto Alzate Avendaño, the so-called Duce of Manizales, after a tour across the southwest to popularise fascism, took stage in Cali and publicly declared the Cali Proclamation, which denounced the central government for its incompetence and commended those who struck against the leftist revolutionaries as heroes of the nation. Furthermore, he would demand that all true sons of Colombia join him in a march to Bogotá to remove the government and help him put an end to this chaos by violently crushing the insurrectionists, which was answered by right-wing paramilitaries and the far-right of the Conservative Party.
When news of the march reached the central government, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla sought to prevent the coup by catching up with the march with his soldiers. Both men would ask the other to stand down, both men would be refused their request. Following an unheeded 24-hour ultimatum, a violent clash would occur between the far-right and the central government, marking the official start of the three-way civil war. A Second Proclamation would follow shortly in Cali, proclaiming the creation of the State of New Granada as a medium to reclaim the nation.