Various factors have contributed to political corruption in Colombia including: drug trafficking, guerrilla and paramilitary conflict,[1] weak surveillance and regulation from institutions, intimidation and harassment of whistle-blowers, and a widespread apathy from society to address unethical behavior.
[6] Practices of corruption that plague politics and the judicial system are, in part, rooted in the colonial legacies of the Spanish conquest.
[7] For example, Colombia inherited the ineffective and distrusted legal system which fails to guarantee private property rights in order to promote economic investment.
The levels of administrative corruption are so high that as of 2011, the media reports of such felonies overshadow the stories on terrorism or armed conflict.
[10] Colombia's modern corruption takes place mostly at the level of business between politicians and officials with private contractors and companies.
16.92% say that a businessperson will offer a bribe, and out of the 28.4% of entrepreneurs who were asked for money or favors by a government official, only 8.52% reported it to the authorities in an effective way.
of corruption span the political spectrum, from right-wing conservatives in the Party of National Unity to the left-wing Democratic Pole.
Some Examples of large institutions, that span across industries and have been involved in major cases of corruption, include: Ferrovias (national railroad administration), Caprecom (health care), Foncolpuertos (ports authority), Termorrio (energy), Dragacol (civil engineering), Chivor reservoir (water supply), and contracts with foreign companies such as Mexican ICA for the pavement of streets in Bogota.