Meet the Men Who Run Colombia's Most Powerful Paramilitary Groups

The avocado capital of Colombia, the city of Hassaquin, is a testament to the country's tumultuous history. Born out of a bus terminal, it's a small, weathered town with commercial trucks continuously traveling along its single main street. Hassaquin only appears on the internal Colombian maps and is rarely ever documented, though partially marked via landmarks displayed on different travel apps. It is in these types of forgotten places in Colombia where the menace of paramilitary groups with violent roots exists.

In Colombia, paramilitary groups have been an omnipresent force since the mid-1990s, with some of them operating autonomously. The influence of the groups varies and many are often intertwined with local politics. Their activities range from extortion to assassinations. There are three main types of paramilitary groups in Colombia:

* Groups founded as self-defense mechanisms during the unrest in Colombia such as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) founded by Carlos Castaño in the 80's.

* Groups not connected to the unrest but riding the newly granted prominence of paramilitary groups such as the Rastrojos led by José David Rodríguez, also known as El

* Groups that were turned into Criminal Interest Organisations (CIO) transforming originally-formed paramilitary groups into drug trafficking organizations such as the Los Urabeños