Crime and violence were already on the upswing in Colombia before the 39-year-old presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot at a campaign rally in Bogota in June. And 10 days after he died from his wounds on Aug. 11 , two separate criminal groups exploded a car bomb outside the air force base in Cali and downed an army helicopter with a drone; at least 18 people were killed , civilians and army officers.

The violence has raised the spectre that after more than two decades of security gains in Colombia, the country that once led the world in per capita murders and kidnappings may be quickly sliding back into chaos. Yet Colombia is not unique. There are growing public concerns from Mexico to Chile about the failure to address violent crime, and it is undoing leftist governments

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