connections between the Armed Forces and the paramilitaries. Lastly, some expert opinions presented in these proceedings52and in other proceedings53 before the Court (incorporated into the documentary evidence of this case) reveal these connections. 84. Specifically with regard to the existence of said ties in the area and at the time of the facts, in Case 19 Merchants v. Colombia, the Inter-American Court recapitulated the existence of evidence of close ties between the paramilitary and the Bárbula Battalion base of the Colombian Army,54 which had jurisdiction over the municipalities of Puerto Triunfo, Puerto Nare, Caracolí, and Puerto Boyacá.55 85. As indicated above in paragraph 44, the facts in the instant case took place in Magdalena Medio, which, according to the National Center for Historical Memory, had been the epicenter of the presence of guerrilla groups since the early 1970s, which was why the area began to be militarized in the 1980s, along with the emergence of paramilitary groups in the region. 2. The context surrounding aggression against trade unionists 86. Since the beginning of the 1960s, the Armed Forces adopted the so-called "National Security Doctrine," sanctioned by Decree 3398 of 1965, which was subsequently enacted as Law 48 of 1968, "Organic Statute of National Defense."56 According to a report of the National Center for Historical Memory, apart from that law, there were military57 counter-insurgency regulations and manuals which amounted to a whole framework in which the concept of "internal enemy (...) went far beyond the scope of guerrilla groups to encompass all forms of political and social opposition and dissidence, including the trade union movement.58 Those rules and regulations were in effect at the time of the disappearance of Víctor Manuel Isaza Uribe. Moreover, some information indicates that some of those manuals were still being applied up to 2009, at least.59 52 Operation Genesis. Citing cf. Expert opinion of Javier Ciurlizza, the expert proposed by the Commission, rendered before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights during the public hearing on February 12, 2013: "[...]The existence of connections between paramilitary groups and some local economic or political agents is public knowledge [...]" Expert opinion rendered by anthropologist Jesús A. Flores López, propopsed by the representatives, before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on February 12, 2013. 53 Operation Genesis. Citing cf. Sworn statement by Federico Andreu-Guzmá in the Mapiripán and La Rochela massacres cases against Colombia. At various points in his statement, Mr. Andreu refers to the existence of connections between paramilitary groups and the military. 54 I/A Court H.R., Case of the 19 Merchants v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 5, 2004. Series C No. 109, paragraph 130ff. 55 Huellas y Rostros de la Desaparición Forzada (1970-2010). Volume II National Center for Historical Memory. Case 4. Víctor Manuel Isaza Uribe: Desaparición Forzada y Represión Antisindical. Available at: http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/desaparicionForzada/libros-tomo2.html. Huellas y Rostros de la Desaparición Forzada (1970-2010). Volume II National Center for Historical Memory. Case 4. Víctor Manuel Isaza Uribe: Desaparición Forzada y Represión Antisindical. Available at: http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/desaparicionForzada/libros-tomo2.html. 56 57 Huellas y Rostros de la Desaparición Forzada (1970-2010). Volume II National Center for Historical Memory. Case 4. Víctor Manuel Isaza Uribe: Desaparición Forzada y Represión Antisindical. Available at: http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/desaparicionForzada/libros-tomo2.html. This report highlights the following: ) Reglamento de combate de contraguerrillas [Counterinsurgency Regulations] – EJC 3-10, Armed Forces High Command, Order No. 005 of April 9, 1969; b) El Manual de Guerrillas y Contraguerrillas urbanas [Manual on Guerrillas and Urban Counterinsurgency] – EJC 3-18,of the National Army, Order No. 00006 of 1977; c) Las Instrucciones generales para operaciones de contraguerrillas [General Instructions for Counterinsurgency Operations], of Army High Command, 1979; d) El Manual ECJ-3-101, of the Armnmy High Command, of June 25,1982; y e) el Reglamento de combate de contraguerrilla [Counterinsurgency Regulations] – EJC-310,Armed Forces High Command], of 1987. 58 Huellas y Rostros de la Desaparición Forzada (1970-2010). Volume II National Center for Historical Memory. Case 4. Víctor Manuel Isaza Uribe: Desaparición Forzada y Represión Antisindical. Available at: http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/desaparicionForzada/libros-tomo2.html. 59 See Council of State. Administrative Litigation Division. Section One. February 5, 2009. File 11001-03-15-000-2008-0140001. Actor, Javier Giraldo Moreno.