Colombia and the United States: The Making of an Inter-American Alliance, 1939-1960

326 Pages·2008·2.83 MB·English

by  Bradley Lynn Coleman

Colombia and the United States
NEW STUDIES IN U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
Mary Ann Heiss, editor
The Birth of Development: How the World Bank, Food and Agriculture
Organization, and World Health Organization Changed the World, 1945–1965
amy l. s. staples
Colombia and the United States: The Making of an Inter-American Alliance,
1939–1960
bradley lynn coleman
Colombia and the United States
The Making of an
Inter-American Alliance,
1939–1960
}
Bradley Lynn Coleman
The Kent State University Press
Kent, Ohio
© 2008 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
all rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2007044972
isbn 978-0-87338-926-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Coleman, Bradley Lynn, 1973–
Colombia and the United States : the making of an inter-American alliance, 1939–1960 /
Bradley Lynn Coleman.
p. cm. — (New studies in U.S. foreign relations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-87338-926-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) ∞
1. United States—Foreign relations—Colombia. 2. Colombia—Foreign relations—United
States. 3. United States—Military relations—Colombia. 4. Colombia—Military rela-
tions—United States. I. Title.
e183.8.c7c65 2008
327.730861—dc22 2007044972
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
a mi esposa

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction: A Global History xiii
Maps and Illustrations xix
1 Solidarity and Cooperation, 1939–1945 1
2 Old Problems, New Possibilities, 1945–1950 43
3 The Korean War and the Americas, 1950–1951 71
4 The Fighting Alliance, 1951–1953 97
5 Continuity and Change, 1953–1957 138
6 The Partnership Transformed, 1958–1960 171
Epilogue 199
Essay on Archival Research 205
List of Abbreviations 211
Notes 213
Bibliography 272
Index 294

Preface
In 1997 I decided to write a book about the Korean War, a comparative history of
small-country United Nations (UN) military forces. At the University of Georgia,
I planned a series of seminar papers, each covering a different UN member state.
The sum of those essays, I thought, would form my doctoral dissertation, the first
draft of my intended book. After some preliminary research, I started with the
Colombian Army in Korea. I discovered, in the process, the fascinating and large-
ly untold story of Colombia, Colombian-American cooperation, and U.S.–Latin
American relations during the Korean War. Over the years that followed, my in-
ternational history of the UN army drifted away from its concentration on Korea.
A 2001 trip to Bogotá, in particular, altered the direction of the work. This book,
therefore, is the unintended product of an unexpected journey. Its publication stirs
contradictory feelings within me, the author: pride, humility, and gratitude. It is
the most comprehensive account of U.S.-Colombian security relations published
to date. It contains useful information and analyses. Still, my ability to reconstruct
that past is necessarily limited. I am responsible for any errors in fact, interpreta-
tion, or presentation. Yet above all, I know that the entire undertaking would have
been impossible without the assistance of many individuals and institutions.
Larry Bland, Thomas Davis, and D. Clayton James devoted special attention to
my historical education at the Virginia Military Institute. At Temple University,
Richard Immerman and Russell Weigley nurtured my interest in military and
diplomatic history. William Stueck supervised my doctoral studies at the Univer-
sity of Georgia. Among his many generous acts, Professor Stueck diverted money
from his personal research fund to support my work in Colombia. Lester Lang-
ley taught me about the inter-American neighborhood. William Leary, Reinaldo
Román, and Thomas Whigham also made lasting intellectual impressions. Julie
Dyles cheerfully attended to all my interlibrary loan requests. David Bushnell,
James Henderson, Stephen Randall, Russell Ramsey, Dennis Rempe, César Torres
Del Río, and Álvaro Valencia Tovar helped me learn more about Colombia, its
armed forces, and its relationship with the United States.
The staffs of the Archivo General de la Nación (Bogotá), Archivo de la Presi-
dencia de la República (Bogotá), Biblioteca Nacional (Bogotá), U.S. National Ar-
chives (College Park, Maryland), Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), George
ix