The Americas | Capitalism 101

Colombia’s banks open accounts for fighters who once robbed them

Many ex-guerrillas have never handled any form of money but cash

|BOGOTÁ

DURING their decades-long war against the Colombian state, the supposedly pro-peasant guerrillas of the FARC were fond of bombing and torching branches of Banco Agrario in remote parts of the country. A state-owned bank lending to farmers and rural-development projects, it was a tempting target on two counts: attacks were a blow against the state, and they often yielded sackfuls of cash.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Capitalism 101”

How to deal with Venezuela

From the July 29th 2017 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Close up of  Javier Milei.

Entrevista con Javier Milei, presidente de Argentina

Transcripción de su encuentro con nuestro corresponsal

Javier Milei speaks into a microphone.

An interview with Javier Milei, Argentina’s president

A transcript of his meeting with our journalist


General Motors Ramos Arizpe plant, in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila State, Mexico

Mexico and Canada brace for Donald Trump’s tariff thrashing

Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Justin Trudeau are taking different approaches to looming trade war


Javier Milei, free-market revolutionary

Argentina’s president explains how he has overturned the old economic order

Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?

The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime

Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison

Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot