Kidnappings in Colombia
Encyclopedia
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
in the Republic of Colombia. This criminal practice was first introduced in modern Colombian history
History of Colombia
This article deals with the history of Colombia, a country in South America.-Pre-Colombian period:Approximately 10,000 years BC hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá , and they traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River valley...
during the early 1970s by the guerrilla movements and, later, also by criminal groups. With the release of Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
on July 2, 2008 this practice gained worldwide notoriety.
Guerrilla groups like the M-19
19th of April Movement
The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...
, the FARC, ELN
National Liberation Army (Colombia)
National Liberation Army is a revolutionary, avowed Marxist guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964....
among others widely exploited this practice. To counter these paramilitary groups also adopted this method to intimidate adversaries. Drug cartels like the Medellín Cartel
Medellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
also used this practice to intimidate politicians who were trying to approve in congress
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...
an extradition treaty with the United States, and also used in drug cartel wars. Regular criminal organizations also kidnap and sell persons of interest to guerrilla groups.
By July 2005, the FARC alone had an estimated 2500 kidnapped civilians, without including the number of military servicemen or government officials. The paramilitary groups were estimated to have kidnapped 500 people between 1996 and 2004. Guerrilla organizations typically demand a ransom, while Paramilitary groups generally use the practice as a means of terror or coercion.
Since the 1970s kidnappings in Colombia gradually increased until 2001. In the year 2000 alone the number of kidnapped people in Colombia rose to 3572. This number declined steadily in the following years, reaching 687 kidnappings in 2006. Latest stats for 2009 (Jan.-Oct.) [from Colombia Police] indicated it had fallen to 172. Despite this sizable reduction in the number of kidnappings after 2001, the number of victims continue to be one of the highest in the world. In 2010 the amount of kidnappings increased to 282. The surge in kidnappings in 2010 and 2011 is attributed to criminal groups like Los Rastrojos
Los Rastrojos
Los Rastrojos is a Colombian neo-paramilitary, armed group engaged in the Colombian armed conflict...
and guerrillas.
Other forms of kidnapping
Following the guerrilla's example, criminal organizations mostly based in large cities began to practice Express kidnappingExpress kidnapping
Express kidnapping , is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from Latin America, where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is requested. It is most common in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. It was frequent in Argentina following its political and economic crisis...
s (secuestros express) , colloquially named "Millionaire tour
Millionaire tour
The millionaire tour , also translated as millionaire walk, is a criminal practice common in some Latin American capital cities.A passenger takes a cab and is temporarily kidnapped by the driver...
s" (Paseo Millionario). Victims are boarded in places with little police presence or where they are most vulnerable. Most commonly these are performed after victims withdraw money from ATMs or while riding in fake, terrorist-operated taxi cabs.
by drug cartels
- Diana TurbayDiana TurbayDiana Turbay Quintero was a Colombian journalist, killed during the rescue operation while kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel...
(Killed during a botched rescue attempt) - Andrés Pastrana (Rescued)
- Francisco SantosFrancisco Santos CalderónFrancisco Santos Calderón also known as Pacho Santos born 14 August 1961 in the city of Bogotá, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's second runner up and became Vice President in the Colombian elections of 2002...
(Released)
by FARC
See List of political hostages held by FARC- Ingrid BetancourtÍngrid BetancourtIngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
(Rescued) - Fernando Araújo PerdomoFernando Araújo PerdomoFernando Araújo Perdomo is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped by the FARC-EP guerrillas and held for six years until he eventually escaped...
(Escaped) - Oscar Tulio LizcanoOscar Tulio LizcanoÓscar Tulio Lizcano is a Colombian conservative politician and a member of the Colombia Conservative Party who was a congressman for the Department of Caldas . On August 5, 2000, while serving as congressman, Lizcano was kidnapped in Riosucio, Caldas, by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...
(Escaped) - Guillermo Gaviria CorreaGuillermo Gaviria CorreaGuillermo Gaviria Correa was the state governor of Antioquia, a province of over 6 million people in northwestern Colombia. Kidnapped by FARC guerrillas during a march against violence, he was held captive for a year in the mountains and was among ten fellow hostages killed by the FARC in response...
(Killed during a botched rescue attempt) - Jhon Frank PinchaoJhon Frank PinchaoJhon Frank Pinchao Blanco is a Colombian policeman with the rank of sub-intendant who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group after Farc's attack on the town of Mitú, Vaupés Department on November 1, 1998...
(Escaped) - Consuelo González (Rescued)
- Farc's kidnapping of 12 Valle del Cauca DeputiesValle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisisThe Valle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisis refers to the kidnapping of 12 Deputies of the Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia, on April 12, 2002 by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to pressure a prisoner exhange between them and the government and to negotiate the...
(11 were killed during a fight between two rebel units. The only survivor was freed in February 2009) - Alan JaraAlan JaraAlan Edmundo Jara Urzola is a Colombian civil engineer, and former Governor of the Department of Meta. He was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on July 15, 2001, and remained in captivity until he was released on February 3, 2009.-References:...
(Released) - Keith StansellKeith StansellKeith Donald Stansell is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008...
(Rescued) - Marc GonsalvesMarc GonsalvesMarc David Gonsalves is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and eleven...
(Rescued) - Thomas HowesThomas HowesThomas Randolph "Tom" Howes is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and...
(Rescued) - Luis Francisco CuellarLuis Francisco CuéllarLuis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal was a Colombian politician, serving as Mayor of Morelia, Governor of the Caquetá Department from 2008 to 2009, and Deputy Governor of Caqueta from 2000 to 2003...
(Killed in captivity)
See also
- Security issues in ColombiaSecurity issues in ColombiaThis article covers national and international security issues in Colombia.- External threats :Colombia does not face any known foreign threats. The only neighbor that might pose a potential military challenge over as-yet unresolved territorial disputes relating to the maritime boundary, where...
- Colombian Armed ConflictColombian Armed ConflictThe Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
- Muerte a SecuestradoresMuerte a SecuestradoresMuerte a Secuestradores or MAS, was a Colombian paramilitary group supported by drug cartels, U.S. corporations, Colombian politicians, and wealthy landowners during the 1980s, in order to protect their economic interests, assassinate political opponents and community organizers, and wage...
(Death to kidnappers)
External links
- Fundación País Libre
- Detailed statistics of kidnappings in Colombia for 1996-2006
- K&R and Extorsion Monitor, June 2006
- Express Kidnapping, May 8, 2006
- MDE armed Robbery, January 28, 2006
- Colombia's fight to end violence, BBC News, June 3, 2006
- Entry 4, Silvana Paternostro, June 19, 2003
- EXPRESS KIDNAPPINGS, Sept 21, 2004 El Espectador; Timeline of kidnappings in Colombia