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next two decades before exploding during La Violencia (1948-1962). Guzmán et al. cite a
“Conservative Party member” describing the changes that came about in the police as a
result of the transfer of power.
Into the National Police and the departmental guards entered delinquents and known wrongdoers
[maleantes] and to a multitude of vilages, characterized by their traditionalist fervor, were brought
evildoers for hire [malhechores a sueldo], duly armed, true mobs [turbas] taught in crim, whose
misión consisted in attacking, pursuing, and hurting [ultimar], if required, all tose who didn’t share
their political passion. Life became extremely difficult and it even became a heroic act to preserve
one’s life in many parts of Colombia. The country hadn’t known such a period of cruelty and
barbarity since the dark [lugenda] time of the Spanish reconquest. (Guzmán et al. 1962: 25-26)
At first, these conflicts were relatively circumscribed geographically, taking place in the
traditionally Liberal state of Santander as well as in the more Conservative-leaning
Boyacá. However, during the turbulent 1940s, the conflict began to spread to other parts
of the country, and the politicized nature of the police became a broader issue. The 1941
assassination of “Mamatoco,” a popular boxer, by police agents, touched off a dialogue at
the policy-making level about corruption within the police. An initial set of reforms in
1943 attempted to address the issue by increasing civilian control of the Police, replacing
the high command with lawyers who went through a brief course at the Escuela General
Santander. This experiment was unsuccessful, because these individuals did not have
experience working with agents. (Echeverri Ossa: 167-72).
The disconnect between police principle and police practice became particularly
clear during the events that followed the assassination of Liberal leader Jorge Eliécer
Gaitán on April 9, 1948. Police agents were generally sympathetic to Gaitán, who spoke
highly of the institution in his oratory, and whose populist discourse resonated with their
experience. After his assassination, riots engulfed Bogotá, and the 5
th
Division of the
Convention