Welcome to CounterPunch The difference, of course, is the scale and nature of U.S. support for a military that maintains ties with one of the most ruthless killing forces in the world, the AUC. While two Colombian military brigades defend Ecopetrol's (the State oil company's) facility near Barrancabermeja, the paramilitaries openly assassinate, "disappear" and torture labor leaders. A staggering 60% of the union organizers killed in the world last year were killed in Colombia.