P

En el contexto de prologo, me parece esta.

Another option:books.google.es/books?isbn=0803282265 -
Alessandro Manzoni - 1996 - ‎Literary Criticism
Even apart from any will to deceive, has there ever been a history containing nothing but the clear and honest truth?

There are some instances where colloquial expressions especially poetic ones become a challenge and this is one of those cases. Most likely after I hit the "Submit answer" button I will come up with something better. Meanwhile, this is it. You could also say "To strip down the truth" but that may sound a bit redundant.

Asker's own suggestion seems to be on the ball. Would need to see the preceding sentence to decide which form to use though...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 53 mins (2013-10-07 15:11:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

= CTC (Cut the Cr**)

español term (edited): Desnudar la palabra en momentos cuando...

The Spanish will need considerable reworking here, given that there is no verb in the main clause and that a literal translation of "cuando" would be most unfortunate (i.e., given that "La Guerra de Los Mil Dias" ended over 100 years ago).

The general sense of the posted text seems to be a claim that the book's author sheds light on an issue that is highly complicated, given its long, complex, and tragic history. My suggestion could be part of reworking the Spanish into natural English that conveys this intended meaning.

Suerte.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2013-10-07 15:29:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I assume here that there is a previous paragraph that refers to the history of Colombia's civil wars, guerrilla activities, etc. If not, then the first sentence will need to be reworked in a way that introduced the topic. Once again, my main point here is that a literal translation of the Spanish will produce disastrous English.

'Calling a spade a spade' is the import of it, I think, but it seems to me some other phrasing is needed in English. This is my go at it.

The passage is grammatically flawed- not to say, necessarily, wrong- but the phrase 'Desnudar la palabra' never leads to a verb. That is, it's a sentence fragment. I imagine that the preceding text sets up the notion that honorable truth-telling is what this author is doing.

"Melville closes out his preface with the carefully worded hope that his "anxious desire to speak the unvarnished truth" will persuade his readers; he does not ..." books.google.com/books?isbn=1558495169

Edward Payson Roe. From Jest to Earnest. Chapter XVII. "I have been flattered and lied to all my life, and you are the first man who ever told me the unvarnished truth'... "the unvarnished truth, whatever be the consequences"; ... of money, left in your hands as a sacred trust, and go on a pleasure trip with it." http://www.classicreader.com/book/2474/17/

David Farrier - 2007 - Unsettled Narratives: The Pacific Writings of Stevenson, Ellis, Melville, and ... "... trusting that his anxious desire to speak the unvarnished truth will gain for him ... for if the reader's confidence is on his side, then his own 'sacred veil' has not ..." books.google.com/books?isbn=041597951X

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2013-10-08 02:20:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I have reasonably 'High' confidence in the answer... not sure why it's listed as '3'... pero, listo, la suerte está echada...!