Colombia, which has coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, has been a strategically important region for more than 500 years. Today, the Republic of Colombia is the fourth-largest country in South America by area, and second-largest by population. At one time, Colombia’s economy was highly dependent on agriculture, but today the country is fully modernized and has industrial centers in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and other major cities. Since the 1960s, Colombia has been troubled by a long-running conflict between government forces and various guerrilla groups such as the FARC and ELN, in which more than 220,000 people have died. Violence spiked in the 1990s, but has been more subdued in recent years. Peace talks between the government and FARC in 2013 have led to hope that the armed conflict may finally end. There’s a lot to discover about Colombia!