Military History of the FARC-EP
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC-EP) is a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary
guerrilla
organization based in Colombia
, which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict
.
FARC-EP is a peasant
army which has proclaimed itself as a revolutionary agrarian, anti-imperialist
Marxist-Leninist
organization of Bolivarian inspiration. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes
, and opposes United States
influence in Colombia (e.g. Plan Colombia
), neo-imperialism, monopolization
of natural resources
by multinational corporation
s, and paramilitary
/government violence.
politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
, in 1948, large-scale violence broke out in what became known as La Violencia
("The Violence"), which lasted until about 1958. More than 300,000 people were killed in the violence, the large majority of whom were peasants and wage laborers living in rural areas.
In 1958, Liberal and Conservative party elites, together with Church and business leaders negotiated an agreement that created an exclusively bipartisan political alternation system, known as the National Front
. The two parties agreed to hold elections, but to alternate power between the two parties, regardless of the election results. They decided that the pact would remain in effect until 1974 (however, it lasted with only minor modifications until 1990). This enabled a consolidation of power amongst Colombian Conservative and Liberal elites, while simultaneously strengthening the military and preventing radical political alternatives and popular reforms.
During the 1960s, under a plan known as "Accelerated Economic Development", conceived by a wealthy Canadian rancher Lauchlin Currie
(who had extensive landholdings in Colombia), the Colombian government began the pursue of policy of promoting large-scale industrial farms producing for export, rather than small farms producing for local consumption. The government heavily subsidized large-scale industrial farm owners, while violently forcing peasants off of their land, claiming that they were using it "inefficiently". A very large number of small landholders were pushed off of their land, and forced to migrate to urban centers, where they formed a cheap labor pool for the burgeoning industrial economy in the Colombian cities. By 1969, there were over 400,000 landless families in Colombia, with an annual increase of 40,000 per year since 1961. By 1970, latifundio (large farms of over 50 hectares), held approximately 77% of the land in Colombia. In 1971, 70% of the farmland in Colombia was owned by 5.7% of the population. Much of this land was consolidated in the hands of urban industrialists—which had seen marked increases in profits due to the influx of landless, displaced peasants, willing to work for very low wages—and cattle ranchers. Malnutrition and lack of basic medical care were almost universal amongst rural workers in the early 1960s, leading to extremely high rates of preventable disease and infant mortality.
. The Colombian Communist Party
(Partido Comunista Colombiano, PCC) was formally accredited by the Comintern
in 1930. The PCC began establishing "peasant leagues" in rural areas and "popular fronts" in urban areas, calling for improved living and working conditions, education, and rights for the working class. These groups began networking together to present a defensive front against the state-supported violence of large landholders. Members organized strikes, protests, seizures of land, and organized communist-controlled "self-defense communities" in southern Colombia that were able to resist state military forces, while providing for the subsistence needs of the populace. Many of the PCC's attempts at organizing peasants, were met with violent repression by the Colombian government, and landowning class. U.S. military intelligence estimates estimated that in 1962, the size of the PCC had grown to 8,000 to 10,000 active members, and an additional 28,000 supporters.
In 1961, a guerrilla leader and long-time PCC organizer named Manuel Marulanda Vélez declared an independent "Republic of Marquetalia". The Lleras government attempted unsuccessfully to attack the communities to drive out the guerrillas, due to fears that "a Cuban-style revolutionary situation might develop". After the failed attacks, several army outposts were set up in the area.
sent a "Special Survey Team" composed of counterinsurgency experts to investigate Colombia's internal security situation. Among other policy recommendations the US team advised that "in order to shield the interests of both Colombian and US authorities against 'interventionist' charges any special aid given for internal security was to be sterile and covert in nature." In February 1962, three years after the 1959 "US Special Survey Team", a Fort Bragg top-level U.S. Special Warfare team headed by Special Warfare Center commander General William P. Yarborough
, visited Colombia for a second survey.
In a secret supplement to his report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
, Yarborough encouraged the creation and deployment of a paramilitary force to commit sabotage and terrorist acts against communists:
The new counter-insurgency policy was instituted as Plan Lazo in 1962 and called for both military operations and civic action program
s in violent areas. Following Yarborough's recommendations, the Colombian military recruited civilians into paramilitary "civil defense" groups which worked alongside the military in its counter-insurgency campaign, as well as in civilian intelligence networks to gather information on guerrilla activity. Doug Stokes
argues that it was not until the early part of the 1980s that the Colombian government attempted to move away from the counterinsurgency strategy represented by Plan Lazo and Yarborough's 1962 recommendations.
At the behest of the United States, the Colombian government began attacking many of the self-defense communities in the early 1960s, attempting to re-assimilate the territories under the control of the national government. FARC was formed in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda Vélez and other PCC members, after a military attack on the community of Marquetalia. 16,000 Colombian troops, backed by the U.S., attacked the 1,000 villagers, only 48 of whom were armed. Marulanda and 47 others fought against government forces at Marquetalia, and then escaped into the mountains along with the other fighters. These 48 men formed the core of FARC, which quickly grew in size to hundreds of fighters.
A 1992 Central Intelligence Agency
report "acknowledged that the FARC had become increasingly involved in drugs through their 'taxing' of the trade in areas under their geographical control and that in some cases the insurgents protected trafficking infrastructure to further fund their insurgency," but also described the relationship between the FARC and the drug traffickers as one "characterized by both cooperation and friction" and concluded that "we do not believe that the drug industry [in Colombia] would be substantially disrupted in the short term by attacks against guerrillas. Indeed, many traffickers would probably welcome, and even assist, increased operations against insurgents."
In 1994, the DEA
came to three similar conclusions. First, that any connections between drug trafficking organizations and Colombian insurgents were "ad hoc 'alliances of convenience'". Second, that "the independent involvement of insurgents in Colombia's domestic drug productions, transportation, and distribution is limited...there is no evidence that the national leadership of either the FARC or the ELN
has directed, as a matter of policy, that their respective organizations directly engage in independent illicit drug production, transportation, or distribution." Third, the report determined that the DEA "has no evidence that the FARC or ELN have been involved in the transportation, distribution, or marketing of illegal drugs in the United States. Furthermore it is doubtful that either insurgent group could develop the international transportation and logistics infrastructure necessary to establish independent drug distribution in the United States or Europe... DEA believes that the insurgents never will be major players in Colombia's drug trade."
began discussing the possibility of peace talks with the guerrillas. Ultimately this resulted in the 1984 La Uribe Agreement, which called for a cease-fire, which ended up lasting from 1984-1987.
In 1985, members of the FARC-EP, along with a large number of other leftist and communist groups, formed a political party known as the Union Patriótica
("Patriotic Union", UP). The UP sought political reforms (known as Apertura Democratica) such as constitutional reform, more democratic local elections, political decentralization, and ending the domination of Colombian politics by the Liberal and Conservative parties. They also pursued socio-economic reforms such land redistribution, greater health and education spending, the nationalization
of foreign businesses, Colombian banks, and transportation, and greater public access to mass media
. While many members of the UP were involved with the FARC-EP, the large majority of them were not and came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as labor unions and socialist parties such as the PCC. In the cities, the FARC-EP began integrating itself with the UP and forming Juntas Patrióticas (or "solidarity cells") -- small groups of people associated with labor unions, student activist groups, and peasant leagues, who travelled into the barrios discussing social problems, building support for the UP, and determining the socio-political stance of the urban peasantry.
The UP performed better in elections than any other leftist party in Colombia's history. In 1986, UP candidates won 350 local council seats, 23 deputy positions in departmental assemblies, 9 seats in the House, and 6 seats in the Senate. The 1986 Presidential candidate, Jaime Pardo Leal, won 4.6% of the national vote.
Between 1986 and 1990, thousands of members of the UP and other leftist parties were murdered (estimates range from 4,000 to 6,000). In 1987, the President of the UP, Jaime Pardo, was murdered. In 1989 a single large landholder had over 400 UP members murdered. Over 70% of all Colombian presidential candidates in 1990—and 100% of those from center-left parties—were assassinated.
, FARC-EP, M-19
, and ELN
) had come together under an umbrella organization known as the Guerrilla Coordinating Board (CNG). This group evolved in 1987 into the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board (CGSB), which led negotiations between the numerous guerrilla groups and the government. While the CGSB did achieve some of its goals, its success was very limited. The CGSB's initiative led to the successful peace process with the M-19. The FARC-EP and ELN, on the other hand, decided to continue their struggle.
, the ERP
, the Quintín Lame Armed Movement, and the M-19
).
Towards the end of 1990, the army, with no advance warning and while negotiations were still ongoing with the group, attacked a compound known as Casa Verde, which housed the National Secretariat of the FARC-EP. The Colombian government argued that the attack was caused by the FARC-EP's lack of commitment to the process, since the organization was continuing its criminal activities.
On August 10, 1990 senior leader Jacobo Arenas
, an ideological leader and founder of FARC-EP, died of a heart attack.
On 3 June 1991 dialogue resumed between the Coordinating Board and the government on neutral territory in Caracas
, Venezuela
and Tlaxcala
, Mexico. However, the war did not stop, and armed attacks by both sides continued. The negotiation process was broken off in 1993 after no agreement was reached. The Coordinating Board disappeared not long after that time, and guerrilla groups continued their activities independently.
Before the break off of dialogue, a letter written by a group of Colombian intellectuals (among whom were Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez
) to the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board was released denouncing the approach taken by the FARC-EP and the dire consequences that it was having for the country.
Beginning in 1996, FARC-EP began applying a new military strategy involving multi-front attacks on military objectives, and the use of both 61mm and 80mm mortars and of homemade mortars known as "cylinder bombs" (the use of which has been condemned by many, due to their inaccuracy and potential for causing collateral damage
). This resulted in a series of major military victories over Colombian government forces.
On August 30, 1996, the FARC-EP staged a surprise attack on a Colombian military base in Las Delicias, Putumayo. Within 15 hours, the base had been completely destroyed, w/ 54 Colombian soldiers killed, 17 wounded, and 60 taken hostage. In March 1998, in southern Caquetá, with the help of local sympathizers and informants, FARC-EP forces annihlated an elite Colombian army unit, the 52nd counterguerrilla battalion of the 3rd Mobile Brigade. A force of 600-800 guerrillas attacked the battalion, and by the end of the engagement, 104 of the battalion's 154 men had been killed. In November 1998, FARC-EP forces overran the provincial capital Mitú
, located in Vaupés
near the border with Brazil. The Colombian government was unable to retake Mitú until three days later, after officials received permission to land Colombian troops in Brazilian military bases across the border.
Over this period in Colombia the cultivation of different drugs expanded and there were widespread coca farmers' marches. These marches brought to a halt several major arteries in southern Colombia in which the government claimed there was FARC-EP involvement, although it has not been fully investigated what, if any, specific involvement the group had.
granted FARC-EP a 42000 km² (16,216.3 sq mi) safe haven meant to serve as a confidence building measure, centered around the San Vicente del Caguán
settlement.
The demilitarization of this area had been among the FARC-EP's conditions for beginning peace talks. The peace process with the government continued at a slow pace for three years during which the BBC
and other news organizations reported that the FARC-EP also used the safe haven to import arms, export drugs, recruit minors, and build up their armed forces.
After a series of high-profile guerrilla terrorist actions, including the hijacking of an aircraft, the attack on several small towns and cities, the arrest of the Irish Colombia Three
(see below), the alleged training of FARC-EP militants in bomb making by them, and the kidnapping of several political figures, Pastrana ended the peace talks on February 21, 2002 and ordered the armed forces to start retaking the FARC-EP controlled zone, beginning at midnight. A 48-hour respite that had been previously agreed to with the rebel group was not respected as the government argued that it had already been granted during an earlier crisis in January, when most of the more prominent FARC-EP commanders had apparently left the demilitarized zone. Shortly after the end of talks, the FARC-EP kidnapped Oxygen Green Party
presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt
, who was traveling in guerrilla territory. Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian government on July 2, 2008 (see Operation Jaque below).
activities in Colombia. Their report alleged a longstanding connection between the IRA and FARC-EP, mentioned at least 15 IRA members who had been traveling in and out of Colombia since 1998, and estimated that the IRA had received at least $2 million in drug proceeds for training FARC-EP members. The IRA/FARC-EP connection was first made public on August 11, 2001, following the arrest in Bogotá
of two IRA explosives and urban warfare
experts and of a representative of Sinn Féin
who was known to be stationed in Cuba
. Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly (known as the Colombia Three
), were arrested in Colombia in August 2001 and were accused of teaching bomb-making methods to FARC-EP.
On 15 February 2002 the Colombia Three were charged with training FARC-EP members in bomb-making in Colombia. The Colombian authorities had received satellite footage, probably supplied by the CIA, of the men with FARC-EP in an isolated jungle area, where they are thought to have spent the last five weeks. They could have spent up to 20 years in jail if the allegations were proved.
They were eventually found guilty of traveling on false passports in June 2004, but were acquitted of training FARC-EP members. That decision was reversed after an appeal
by the Attorney General of Colombia
and they were sentenced to 17-year terms. However, they vanished in December 2004 while on bail
and returned to Ireland. Tánaiste
Mary Harney
said no deal had been done with Sinn Féin or the IRA over the three's return to Ireland adding that the Irish government would consider any request from the Colombian authorities for their extradition
. Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos Calderón
did not rule out allowing them to serve their sentences in Ireland.
actions of new president Álvaro Uribe
, which led to the capture or desertion of many fighters and medium-level commanders. Uribe ran for office on an anti-FARC-EP platform and was determined to defeat FARC-EP in a bid to create "confidence" in the country. Uribe's own father had been killed by FARC-EP in an attempted kidnapping in 1983.
In 2002 and 2003, FARC broke up ten large ranches in Meta, an eastern Colombian province, and distributed the land to local subsistence farmers.
On July 13, 2004, the office of the United Nations
' High Commissioner for Human Rights publicly condemned the group, accusing the FARC-EP of violating article 17 of the additional Protocol II
of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law, as a result of the July 10 massacre of seven peasants and the subsequent displacement of eighty individuals in San Carlos, Antioquia.
In early February 2005, a series of small scale military actions by the FARC-EP around the southwestern departments of Colombia, resulted in an estimated 40 casualties. The FARC-EP, in response to government military operations in the south and in the southeast, would now be displacing its military center of gravity
towards the Nariño, Putumayo and Cauca
departments.
Notable releases include: two policemen in Putamayo; German hostage Lothar Hintze; the January 10, 2008 release of former vice presidential candidate Clara Rojas
and former congresswoman Consuelo González, which was a deal brokered by the government of Venezuela; the January 31, 2008 release of Luis Eladio Perez Bonilla, Gloria Polanco
, and Orlando Beltran Cuellar in another deal brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
; the December 21, 2008 release of Alan Jara
, Sigifredo López
, three low-ranking police officers and a low-ranking soldier; the March 17, 2009 of Swedish hostage Erik Roland Larsson. The March 2010 release of Professional Soldier Josue Daniel Calvo Sanchez and Corporal Second Class Pablo Emilio Moncayo Cabrera.
Several hostages also died or were killed during captivity, including: Julian Ernesto Guevara Castro, a Police Captain, who died of tuberculosis on January 28, 2006.; the killing of 11 out of 12 provincial deputies from the Valle del Cauca Department
whom the guerrillas had kidnapped in 2002. The FARC-EP claimed that they were killed in the crossfire of a gun battle, while the Colombian government and Red Cross claim that they were killed by FARC-EP; the killing of Luis Francisco Cuellar
, the Governor of Caquetá, who had been kidnapped to be put on trial for corruption. and had his throat slit while FARC was fleeing from government military forces
Notable escapes and raids include: Fernando Araújo
, who was later named Minister of Foreign Relations and formerly Development Minister, and who escaped his captors on December 31, 2006; the escape of Colombian Conservative Party
congressman Óscar Tulio Lizcano
, on October 26, 2008; a July 2, 2008 Colombian military operation called Operation Jaque
, where the FARC-EP was tricked by the Colombian Government into releasing 15 hostages to Colombian Intelligence agents disguised as journalists and international aid workers in a helicopter rescue; the June 13, 2010 raid which released Police Colonel Luis Herlindo Mendieta Ovalle, Police Captain Enrique Murillo Sanchez, Police Lieutenante William Donato Gomez and Army Staff Sargeant Arbey Delgado Argote.
urged European and Latin American governments on January 11, 2008 to stop branding Colombia's guerrillas as terrorists, a day after welcoming two hostages released by the rebels. "I am asking the governments (across Latin America) to take the FARC-EP and ELN (National Liberation Army
) off their lists of global terrorist groups", Chávez told the National Assembly. His plea was futile: Colombian President Álvaro Uribe
was quick to respond, ruling out any change in the FARC-EP's or ELN's status. Álvaro Uribe later issued a statement saying the insurgents are indeed terrorists who fund their operations with cocaine smuggling, recruit children and plant land mines in their effort to topple a democratically elected government.
by a 33 year old engineer, Oscar Morales, from his home in Barranquilla. Morales, along with other young professionals created a Facebook group called "Million Voices against the FARC", which quickly gained over 200,000 members from around the world. Morales was irritated with Hugo Chávez's suggestion that FARC-EP should be taken off of the European Union's list of international terrorist organizations and treated as a legitimate army. The organizing for the protests was also supported by local Colombian media outlets as well as the Colombian government.
President Uribe expressed "gratitude to all Colombians who today have expressed, with dignity and strength, the rejection of kidnapping and of the kidnappers." Vice President Francisco Santos
said that if the FARC continued their practices of kidnapping, that they would be politically marginalized. Supporters included freed hostage Clara Rojas
, 2002 running mate for Ingrid Betancourt
, who said "I hope FARC is listening". Former hostage Luis Eladio Perez, who still remained in captivity at the time of the protest, remarked after his liberation that the rallies allowed those imprisoned by FARC to "feel the solidarity of Colombians for the first time". Opposition Senator Gustavo Petro
, after meeting with rally organizers and inquiring as to why the protest didn't address the actions of other violent actors such as the AUC
paramilitaries and ELN
guerrillas, acknowledged the protest march as a "democratic expression" of the citizenry against FARC and against kidnappings.
Shortly before the rallies took place thirteen demobilized AUC
paramilitary leaders, including Salvatore Mancuso
, had expressed their support of the protest through a communique. However, this move was rejected by organizer Carlos Andrés Santiago, who stated that such an endorsement was harmful and criticized the AUC's actions.
Critics have argued that the protests were primarily by upper-class Colombians, promoted and supported by government or business elites and also involved right-wing paramilitaries. The exclusive focus on FARC, instead of also criticizing the actions of the government and government-aligned paramilitaries responsible for most of the conflict's atrocities, was also questioned. Astrid Betancourt, sister of Ingrid Betancourt
, condemned the march as a "manipulation" saying "it's propaganda, which while pretending to be against the FARC is completely organised by the government". Others said that right-wing paramilitary leaders played a role organizing the protests, businesses and government offices shut down for the day, bosses pressured workers to attend the gatherings and the mass media gave free advertising to the mobilization.
Neumayer and Raffl of the University of Salzburg
ICT&S Center have argued that since the protest was primarily organized via Facebook and only 1 out of 5 Colombians were estimated to have regular access to the Internet in 2007, the movement would have been more representative of upper class sentiments than those of Colombians who lack such access. They also mention that the protests tended to take place in wealthier cities and nations as measured by the Human Development Index
, in Colombia itself and worldwide, thus claiming that "even in geographical terms the protest was formed by a global elite". They acknowledged that the anti-FARC rallies were an example of how social software can "enhance political activism from a local to a worldwide scale" but also pointed out that the use of social networks remains a "privilege" given the "enormous part of the population" that is still excluded from the Internet as a whole.
The opposition Alternative Democratic Pole
(Polo Democrático Alternativo) party leadership voted 18 to 3 against participating in the main protest, rejecting an initial proposal by Senator Gustavo Petro
, but unanimously accepted his subsequent request to hold a separate rally on the same date with the support of labor unions and human rights organizations. Carlos Gaviria Díaz
, President of Polo Democrático said that while the party disapproves of the crimes of FARC, such as kidnapping and extortion, they also did not support the decision of the protest organizers to avoid criticizing the crimes of the paramilitary groups and the government, citing murders of teachers and trade union leaders and millions of people who have been displaced.
On July 20, 2008, a subsequent set of rallies against FARC included thousands of Colombians in Bogotá and hundreds of thousands throughout the rest of the country.
's territory, resulting in the death of over 20 people, with at least 17 of them being FARC-EP guerillas. Raúl Reyes
was among the dead, along with at least 16 of his fellow guerrillas. Raúl Reyes was FARC-EP's international spokesman and hostage release negotiator and considered to be FARC-EP's second-in-command. This incident led to a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Ecuador and Colombia, and between Venezuela and Colombia. Ecuador condemned the attack.
This is considered the biggest blow against FARC-EP in its more than four decades of existence.
This event was quickly followed by the death of Ivan Rios
, another member of FARC-EP's seven-man Secretariat, less than a week later, by the hand of his own bodyguard. It came as a result of heavy Colombian military pressure and a reward offer of up to $5 million from the Colombian government.
, published an interview with Colombian defense minister Juan Manuel Santos
on May 24, 2008 in which Santos mentions the death of Manuel Marulanda Vélez. The news was confirmed by FARC-EP-commander 'Timochenko
' on pan-Latin American television station teleSUR
on May 25, 2008. 'Timochenko' announced the new commander in chief is 'Alfonso Cano
' After speculations in several national and international media about the 'softening up' of the FARC and the announcement of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe that several FARC-leaders were ready to surrender and liberate hostages, the secretariat of the FARC sent out a communiqué
emphasizing the death of their founder would not change their approach towards the hostages or the humanitarian agreement.
n President Hugo Chávez
stated his disapproval with the FARC-EP strategy of armed struggle and kidnapping saying "I don't agree with kidnapping and I don't agree with armed struggle". President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly stated his disapproval of the practice of kidnapping stating on April 14 that "If I were a guerrilla, I wouldn't have the need to hold a woman, a man who aren't soldiers...Free the civilians who don't have anything to do with the war. I don't agree with that.". On March 7 at the Cumbre de Rio, Chavez stated again that the FARC-EP should lay down their arms "Look at what has happened and is happening in Latin America, reflect on this (FARC-EP), we are done with war... enough with all this death". On June 8 Chavez repeated his call for a political solution and an end to the war, "The guerrilla war is history...At this moment in Latin America, an armed guerrilla movement is out of place".
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(FARC-EP) is a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
organization based in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict
Colombian Armed Conflict
The 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...
.
FARC-EP is a peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
army which has proclaimed itself as a revolutionary agrarian, anti-imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
organization of Bolivarian inspiration. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, and opposes United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
influence in Colombia (e.g. Plan Colombia
Plan Colombia
The term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating a left-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia....
), neo-imperialism, monopolization
Monopolization
The term monopolization refers to an offense under Section 2 of the American Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890. Section 2 states that any person "who shall monopolize . ....
of natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
by multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
s, and paramilitary
Paramilitarism in Colombia
Paramilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...
/government violence.
La Violencia and the National Front
Following the murder of populistPopulism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a politician, a leader of a populist movement in Colombia, a former Education Minister and Labor Minister , mayor of Bogotá and one of the most charismatic leaders of the Liberal Party.He was assassinated during his second presidential campaign in 1948, setting off...
, in 1948, large-scale violence broke out in what became known as La Violencia
La Violencia
La Violencia is a period of civil conflict in the Colombian countryside between supporters of the Colombian Liberal Party and the Colombian Conservative Party, a conflict which took place roughly from 1948 to 1958 ....
("The Violence"), which lasted until about 1958. More than 300,000 people were killed in the violence, the large majority of whom were peasants and wage laborers living in rural areas.
In 1958, Liberal and Conservative party elites, together with Church and business leaders negotiated an agreement that created an exclusively bipartisan political alternation system, known as the National Front
National Front (Colombia)
National Front was a period in the history of Colombia in which the two main political parties; Liberal Party and Conservative Party agreed to let the opposite party govern, intercalating for a period of four presidential terms....
. The two parties agreed to hold elections, but to alternate power between the two parties, regardless of the election results. They decided that the pact would remain in effect until 1974 (however, it lasted with only minor modifications until 1990). This enabled a consolidation of power amongst Colombian Conservative and Liberal elites, while simultaneously strengthening the military and preventing radical political alternatives and popular reforms.
During the 1960s, under a plan known as "Accelerated Economic Development", conceived by a wealthy Canadian rancher Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Bernard Currie was a Canadian-born U.S.economist from New Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada, and allegedly an agent of espionage for the Soviet Union....
(who had extensive landholdings in Colombia), the Colombian government began the pursue of policy of promoting large-scale industrial farms producing for export, rather than small farms producing for local consumption. The government heavily subsidized large-scale industrial farm owners, while violently forcing peasants off of their land, claiming that they were using it "inefficiently". A very large number of small landholders were pushed off of their land, and forced to migrate to urban centers, where they formed a cheap labor pool for the burgeoning industrial economy in the Colombian cities. By 1969, there were over 400,000 landless families in Colombia, with an annual increase of 40,000 per year since 1961. By 1970, latifundio (large farms of over 50 hectares), held approximately 77% of the land in Colombia. In 1971, 70% of the farmland in Colombia was owned by 5.7% of the population. Much of this land was consolidated in the hands of urban industrialists—which had seen marked increases in profits due to the influx of landless, displaced peasants, willing to work for very low wages—and cattle ranchers. Malnutrition and lack of basic medical care were almost universal amongst rural workers in the early 1960s, leading to extremely high rates of preventable disease and infant mortality.
PCC and self-defense communities
Communists were active throughout rural and urban Colombia in the period immediately following World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Colombian Communist Party
Colombian Communist Party
The Colombian Communist Party or PCC is the legal communist party of Colombia. It was founded in 1930, as the Colombian section of the Comintern...
(Partido Comunista Colombiano, PCC) was formally accredited by the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in 1930. The PCC began establishing "peasant leagues" in rural areas and "popular fronts" in urban areas, calling for improved living and working conditions, education, and rights for the working class. These groups began networking together to present a defensive front against the state-supported violence of large landholders. Members organized strikes, protests, seizures of land, and organized communist-controlled "self-defense communities" in southern Colombia that were able to resist state military forces, while providing for the subsistence needs of the populace. Many of the PCC's attempts at organizing peasants, were met with violent repression by the Colombian government, and landowning class. U.S. military intelligence estimates estimated that in 1962, the size of the PCC had grown to 8,000 to 10,000 active members, and an additional 28,000 supporters.
In 1961, a guerrilla leader and long-time PCC organizer named Manuel Marulanda Vélez declared an independent "Republic of Marquetalia". The Lleras government attempted unsuccessfully to attack the communities to drive out the guerrillas, due to fears that "a Cuban-style revolutionary situation might develop". After the failed attacks, several army outposts were set up in the area.
Plan Lazo
In October 1959, the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sent a "Special Survey Team" composed of counterinsurgency experts to investigate Colombia's internal security situation. Among other policy recommendations the US team advised that "in order to shield the interests of both Colombian and US authorities against 'interventionist' charges any special aid given for internal security was to be sterile and covert in nature." In February 1962, three years after the 1959 "US Special Survey Team", a Fort Bragg top-level U.S. Special Warfare team headed by Special Warfare Center commander General William P. Yarborough
William P. Yarborough
Lieutenant General William Pelham Yarborough was a United States Army officer and a 1936 graduate of West Point. General Yarborough designed the parachutist badge, paratrooper or 'jump' boots, and the airborne jump uniform. He is known as the 'Father of the Modern Green Berets.' He is descended...
, visited Colombia for a second survey.
In a secret supplement to his report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
, Yarborough encouraged the creation and deployment of a paramilitary force to commit sabotage and terrorist acts against communists:
- "A concerted country team effort should be made now to select civilian and military personnel for clandestine training in resistance operations in case they are needed later. This should be done with a view toward development of a civil and military structure for exploitation in the event the Colombian internal security system deteriorates further. This structure should be used to pressure toward reforms known to be needed, perform counter-agent and counter-propaganda functions and as necessary execute paramilitaryParamilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
, sabotageSabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
and/or terroristTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
activities against known communist proponents. It should be backed by the United States."
The new counter-insurgency policy was instituted as Plan Lazo in 1962 and called for both military operations and civic action program
Civic action program
A civic action program also known as civic action project is a type of operation designed to assist an area by using the capabilities and resources of a military force or civilian organization to conduct long-term programs or short-term projects...
s in violent areas. Following Yarborough's recommendations, the Colombian military recruited civilians into paramilitary "civil defense" groups which worked alongside the military in its counter-insurgency campaign, as well as in civilian intelligence networks to gather information on guerrilla activity. Doug Stokes
Doug Stokes
Doug Stokes is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, Canterbury.His first book, examines US intervention in Colombia and argues that it has primarily been driven by a desire to secure a stable supply of oil and to pacify threats to...
argues that it was not until the early part of the 1980s that the Colombian government attempted to move away from the counterinsurgency strategy represented by Plan Lazo and Yarborough's 1962 recommendations.
At the behest of the United States, the Colombian government began attacking many of the self-defense communities in the early 1960s, attempting to re-assimilate the territories under the control of the national government. FARC was formed in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda Vélez and other PCC members, after a military attack on the community of Marquetalia. 16,000 Colombian troops, backed by the U.S., attacked the 1,000 villagers, only 48 of whom were armed. Marulanda and 47 others fought against government forces at Marquetalia, and then escaped into the mountains along with the other fighters. These 48 men formed the core of FARC, which quickly grew in size to hundreds of fighters.
Seventh Guerrilla Conference of the FARC-EP
In 1982, FARC-EP held its Seventh Guerrilla Conference, which called for a major shift in FARC's strategy. FARC had historically been doing most of its fighting in rural areas, and was limited to small-scale confrontations with Colombian military forces. By 1982, increased income from the "coca boom" allowed them to expand into an irregular army, which would then stage large scale attacks on Colombian troops. They also began sending fighters to Vietnam and the Soviet Union for advanced military training. They also planned to move closer to middle-sized cities, as opposed to only remote rural areas, and closer to areas rich in natural resources, in order to create a strong economic infrastructure. It was also at this conference that FARC added the initials "EP", for "Ejército del Pueblo" or "People's Army", to the organization's name.Entrance into coca trade
Initially, the FARC-EP rejected any involvement in the emerging phenomenon of drug growing and trafficking, but during the 1980s the group gradually came to accept it as it became a burgeoning business. Taxes on drug producers and traffickers were introduced as a source of funding in the form of the compulsory so-called "gramaje" tax on growers and through the enforcement of other regulations affecting different stages of the production process.A 1992 Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
report "acknowledged that the FARC had become increasingly involved in drugs through their 'taxing' of the trade in areas under their geographical control and that in some cases the insurgents protected trafficking infrastructure to further fund their insurgency," but also described the relationship between the FARC and the drug traffickers as one "characterized by both cooperation and friction" and concluded that "we do not believe that the drug industry [in Colombia] would be substantially disrupted in the short term by attacks against guerrillas. Indeed, many traffickers would probably welcome, and even assist, increased operations against insurgents."
In 1994, the DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
came to three similar conclusions. First, that any connections between drug trafficking organizations and Colombian insurgents were "ad hoc 'alliances of convenience'". Second, that "the independent involvement of insurgents in Colombia's domestic drug productions, transportation, and distribution is limited...there is no evidence that the national leadership of either the FARC or the 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....
has directed, as a matter of policy, that their respective organizations directly engage in independent illicit drug production, transportation, or distribution." Third, the report determined that the DEA "has no evidence that the FARC or ELN have been involved in the transportation, distribution, or marketing of illegal drugs in the United States. Furthermore it is doubtful that either insurgent group could develop the international transportation and logistics infrastructure necessary to establish independent drug distribution in the United States or Europe... DEA believes that the insurgents never will be major players in Colombia's drug trade."
La Uribe Agreement and Union Patriótica
In the early 1980s, President Belisario BetancurBelisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
began discussing the possibility of peace talks with the guerrillas. Ultimately this resulted in the 1984 La Uribe Agreement, which called for a cease-fire, which ended up lasting from 1984-1987.
In 1985, members of the FARC-EP, along with a large number of other leftist and communist groups, formed a political party known as the Union Patriótica
Patriotic Union (Colombia)
The Patriotic Union or UP , was a leftist Colombian political party founded by the FARC and the Colombian Communist Party in 1985, as part of the peace negotiations that the guerrillas held with the Conservative Belisario Betancur administration...
("Patriotic Union", UP). The UP sought political reforms (known as Apertura Democratica) such as constitutional reform, more democratic local elections, political decentralization, and ending the domination of Colombian politics by the Liberal and Conservative parties. They also pursued socio-economic reforms such land redistribution, greater health and education spending, the nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of foreign businesses, Colombian banks, and transportation, and greater public access to mass media
Media democracy
Media democracy is a set of ideas advocating reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism. The stated purpose for doing so is to create a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of...
. While many members of the UP were involved with the FARC-EP, the large majority of them were not and came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as labor unions and socialist parties such as the PCC. In the cities, the FARC-EP began integrating itself with the UP and forming Juntas Patrióticas (or "solidarity cells") -- small groups of people associated with labor unions, student activist groups, and peasant leagues, who travelled into the barrios discussing social problems, building support for the UP, and determining the socio-political stance of the urban peasantry.
The UP performed better in elections than any other leftist party in Colombia's history. In 1986, UP candidates won 350 local council seats, 23 deputy positions in departmental assemblies, 9 seats in the House, and 6 seats in the Senate. The 1986 Presidential candidate, Jaime Pardo Leal, won 4.6% of the national vote.
Between 1986 and 1990, thousands of members of the UP and other leftist parties were murdered (estimates range from 4,000 to 6,000). In 1987, the President of the UP, Jaime Pardo, was murdered. In 1989 a single large landholder had over 400 UP members murdered. Over 70% of all Colombian presidential candidates in 1990—and 100% of those from center-left parties—were assassinated.
Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board (CGSB)
By 1985, the major guerrilla groups (EPLPopular Liberation Army (Colombia)
The Popular Liberation Army, EPL , is a Colombian guerrilla group created in 1967. Most of its former members demobilized in 1991, forming the Esperanza, Paz y Libertad party, but a dissident faction continues operating.-Origins:The EPL was founded by the Communist Party of Colombia , PCC, a 1967...
, FARC-EP, 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...
, and 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....
) had come together under an umbrella organization known as the Guerrilla Coordinating Board (CNG). This group evolved in 1987 into the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board (CGSB), which led negotiations between the numerous guerrilla groups and the government. While the CGSB did achieve some of its goals, its success was very limited. The CGSB's initiative led to the successful peace process with the M-19. The FARC-EP and ELN, on the other hand, decided to continue their struggle.
1990-1998
During this period, the Colombian government continued its negotiations with the FARC-EP and other armed groups, some of which were successful. Some of the groups which demobilized at this time include the (EPLPopular Liberation Army (Colombia)
The Popular Liberation Army, EPL , is a Colombian guerrilla group created in 1967. Most of its former members demobilized in 1991, forming the Esperanza, Paz y Libertad party, but a dissident faction continues operating.-Origins:The EPL was founded by the Communist Party of Colombia , PCC, a 1967...
, the ERP
People's Revolutionary Army (Colombia)
The People's Revolutionary Army was a small marxist guerrilla organization in Colombia. The group originated in the municipality of Venadillo, Tolima Department in c. 1985 as a splinter group of the National Liberation Army and was commanded by its founder Édgar Castellanos, aka "Gonzalo" until...
, the Quintín Lame Armed Movement, and 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...
).
Towards the end of 1990, the army, with no advance warning and while negotiations were still ongoing with the group, attacked a compound known as Casa Verde, which housed the National Secretariat of the FARC-EP. The Colombian government argued that the attack was caused by the FARC-EP's lack of commitment to the process, since the organization was continuing its criminal activities.
On August 10, 1990 senior leader Jacobo Arenas
Jacobo Arenas
Jacobo Arenas was a Colombian guerrilla and ideological leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He was also one of the FARC figures involved in the organization and creation of the Patriotic Union political party in 1985...
, an ideological leader and founder of FARC-EP, died of a heart attack.
On 3 June 1991 dialogue resumed between the Coordinating Board and the government on neutral territory in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
, Mexico. However, the war did not stop, and armed attacks by both sides continued. The negotiation process was broken off in 1993 after no agreement was reached. The Coordinating Board disappeared not long after that time, and guerrilla groups continued their activities independently.
Before the break off of dialogue, a letter written by a group of Colombian intellectuals (among whom were Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
) to the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board was released denouncing the approach taken by the FARC-EP and the dire consequences that it was having for the country.
Beginning in 1996, FARC-EP began applying a new military strategy involving multi-front attacks on military objectives, and the use of both 61mm and 80mm mortars and of homemade mortars known as "cylinder bombs" (the use of which has been condemned by many, due to their inaccuracy and potential for causing collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
). This resulted in a series of major military victories over Colombian government forces.
On August 30, 1996, the FARC-EP staged a surprise attack on a Colombian military base in Las Delicias, Putumayo. Within 15 hours, the base had been completely destroyed, w/ 54 Colombian soldiers killed, 17 wounded, and 60 taken hostage. In March 1998, in southern Caquetá, with the help of local sympathizers and informants, FARC-EP forces annihlated an elite Colombian army unit, the 52nd counterguerrilla battalion of the 3rd Mobile Brigade. A force of 600-800 guerrillas attacked the battalion, and by the end of the engagement, 104 of the battalion's 154 men had been killed. In November 1998, FARC-EP forces overran the provincial capital Mitú
Mitú
Mitú is the capital city of the department of Vaupés in Colombia. The town of Mitu is the most remote Capital of Department in Colombia.In November, 1998 an estimated 1,900 FARC guerrilla members of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP tried to take over the town by force, against 120 National Police...
, located in Vaupés
Vaupés Department
Vaupés is a department of Colombia in the jungle covered Amazonas Region. It is located in the southeast part of the country, bordering Brazil to the east, the department of Amazonas to the south, Caquetá and Guaviare, and Guainía to the north covering a total area of 54,135 km²...
near the border with Brazil. The Colombian government was unable to retake Mitú until three days later, after officials received permission to land Colombian troops in Brazilian military bases across the border.
Over this period in Colombia the cultivation of different drugs expanded and there were widespread coca farmers' marches. These marches brought to a halt several major arteries in southern Colombia in which the government claimed there was FARC-EP involvement, although it has not been fully investigated what, if any, specific involvement the group had.
Andrés Pastrana's Presidency (1998-2002)
In March 1999 members of a local FARC contigent killed 3 indigenous rights activists, who were working with the U'Wa people to build a school for U'Wa children, and were fighting against encroachment of U'Wa territory by multinational oil corporations. The killings were almost universally condemned, and seriously harmed public perceptions of FARC.1999–2002 Peace Process
With the hope of negotiating a peace settlement, on November 7, 1998, President Andrés PastranaAndrés Pastrana Arango
Andrés Pastrana Arango was the President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana, who was president from 1970 to 1974.-Early years:...
granted FARC-EP a 42000 km² (16,216.3 sq mi) safe haven meant to serve as a confidence building measure, centered around the San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán is a town and municipality in Caquetá Department, Colombia.Between 1998 and 2002, San Vicente del Caguán was the center of the demilitarized zone , which was created as a safe haven for the FARC. Two days after the peace talks were ended, Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped while...
settlement.
The demilitarization of this area had been among the FARC-EP's conditions for beginning peace talks. The peace process with the government continued at a slow pace for three years during which the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and other news organizations reported that the FARC-EP also used the safe haven to import arms, export drugs, recruit minors, and build up their armed forces.
After a series of high-profile guerrilla terrorist actions, including the hijacking of an aircraft, the attack on several small towns and cities, the arrest of the Irish Colombia Three
Colombia Three
The Colombia Three are three individuals – Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley – who are currently living in the Republic of Ireland, having fled from Colombia, where they were sentenced to prison terms of seventeen years for training FARC rebels.-Arrest:The three came to...
(see below), the alleged training of FARC-EP militants in bomb making by them, and the kidnapping of several political figures, Pastrana ended the peace talks on February 21, 2002 and ordered the armed forces to start retaking the FARC-EP controlled zone, beginning at midnight. A 48-hour respite that had been previously agreed to with the rebel group was not respected as the government argued that it had already been granted during an earlier crisis in January, when most of the more prominent FARC-EP commanders had apparently left the demilitarized zone. Shortly after the end of talks, the FARC-EP kidnapped Oxygen Green Party
Oxygen Green Party
The Oxygen Green Party was a political party in Colombia founded in 1998. After Íngrid Betancourt, one of its most prominent members, was kidnapped in 2002, the party's popular support began to fade. In 2005 a political reform on the Colombian party system left the party without participation, due...
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...
, who was traveling in guerrilla territory. Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian government on July 2, 2008 (see Operation Jaque below).
The Colombia Three case
On April 24, 2001, the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations published the findings of its investigation into IRAProvisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
activities in Colombia. Their report alleged a longstanding connection between the IRA and FARC-EP, mentioned at least 15 IRA members who had been traveling in and out of Colombia since 1998, and estimated that the IRA had received at least $2 million in drug proceeds for training FARC-EP members. The IRA/FARC-EP connection was first made public on August 11, 2001, following the arrest in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
of two IRA explosives and urban warfare
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
experts and of a representative of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
who was known to be stationed in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly (known as the Colombia Three
Colombia Three
The Colombia Three are three individuals – Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley – who are currently living in the Republic of Ireland, having fled from Colombia, where they were sentenced to prison terms of seventeen years for training FARC rebels.-Arrest:The three came to...
), were arrested in Colombia in August 2001 and were accused of teaching bomb-making methods to FARC-EP.
On 15 February 2002 the Colombia Three were charged with training FARC-EP members in bomb-making in Colombia. The Colombian authorities had received satellite footage, probably supplied by the CIA, of the men with FARC-EP in an isolated jungle area, where they are thought to have spent the last five weeks. They could have spent up to 20 years in jail if the allegations were proved.
They were eventually found guilty of traveling on false passports in June 2004, but were acquitted of training FARC-EP members. That decision was reversed after an appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
by the Attorney General of Colombia
Attorney General of Colombia
The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative autonomy designed to prosecute offenders, investigate crimes, review judicial processes and accuse penal law infractions against judges and courts of...
and they were sentenced to 17-year terms. However, they vanished in December 2004 while on bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
and returned to Ireland. Tánaiste
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
Mary Harney
Mary Harney
Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011...
said no deal had been done with Sinn Féin or the IRA over the three's return to Ireland adding that the Irish government would consider any request from the Colombian authorities for their extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
. Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos Calderón
Francisco Santos Calderón
Francisco 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...
did not rule out allowing them to serve their sentences in Ireland.
2002-2005 period
For most of the period between 2002 and 2005, the FARC-EP was believed to be in a strategic withdrawal due to the increasing military and policeColombian National Police
The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military of Colombia , it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. They are the largest police force in Colombia...
actions of new president Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
, which led to the capture or desertion of many fighters and medium-level commanders. Uribe ran for office on an anti-FARC-EP platform and was determined to defeat FARC-EP in a bid to create "confidence" in the country. Uribe's own father had been killed by FARC-EP in an attempted kidnapping in 1983.
In 2002 and 2003, FARC broke up ten large ranches in Meta, an eastern Colombian province, and distributed the land to local subsistence farmers.
On July 13, 2004, the office of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' High Commissioner for Human Rights publicly condemned the group, accusing the FARC-EP of violating article 17 of the additional Protocol II
Protocol II
Protocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders...
of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law, as a result of the July 10 massacre of seven peasants and the subsequent displacement of eighty individuals in San Carlos, Antioquia.
In early February 2005, a series of small scale military actions by the FARC-EP around the southwestern departments of Colombia, resulted in an estimated 40 casualties. The FARC-EP, in response to government military operations in the south and in the southeast, would now be displacing its military center of gravity
Center of gravity (military)
The center of gravity is a concept developed by Carl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian military theorist, in his work On War.-United States Department of Defense:...
towards the Nariño, Putumayo and Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
departments.
Hostage releases
During Uribe's presidency, there were numerous hostage releases, rescues, and escapes.Notable releases include: two policemen in Putamayo; German hostage Lothar Hintze; the January 10, 2008 release of former vice presidential candidate Clara Rojas
Clara Rojas
Clara Leticia Rojas González is a Colombian tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán on February 23, 2002, while Betancourt...
and former congresswoman Consuelo González, which was a deal brokered by the government of Venezuela; the January 31, 2008 release of Luis Eladio Perez Bonilla, Gloria Polanco
Gloria Polanco
Gloria Polanco is a Colombian woman and former First Lady of the Huila Department as wife of then Governor of Huila Jaime Lozada Perdomo. She rose to prominence after being kidnapped by the FARC-EP along with two of her sons and other members of her building...
, and Orlando Beltran Cuellar in another deal brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
; the December 21, 2008 release of Alan Jara
Alan Jara
Alan 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:...
, Sigifredo López
Sigifredo López
Sigifredo López Tobón is a lawyer and politician. While deputy in the administrative department of Valle del Cauca he was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2002...
, three low-ranking police officers and a low-ranking soldier; the March 17, 2009 of Swedish hostage Erik Roland Larsson. The March 2010 release of Professional Soldier Josue Daniel Calvo Sanchez and Corporal Second Class Pablo Emilio Moncayo Cabrera.
Several hostages also died or were killed during captivity, including: Julian Ernesto Guevara Castro, a Police Captain, who died of tuberculosis on January 28, 2006.; the killing of 11 out of 12 provincial deputies from the Valle del Cauca Department
Valle del Cauca Department
Valle del Cauca is a department of Colombia. It is in the western side of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean, and it is considered one of the most important departments in the Republic of Colombia. Its capital is Santiago de Cali...
whom the guerrillas had kidnapped in 2002. The FARC-EP claimed that they were killed in the crossfire of a gun battle, while the Colombian government and Red Cross claim that they were killed by FARC-EP; the killing of Luis Francisco Cuellar
Luis Francisco Cuéllar
Luis 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...
, the Governor of Caquetá, who had been kidnapped to be put on trial for corruption. and had his throat slit while FARC was fleeing from government military forces
Notable escapes and raids include: Fernando Araújo
Fernando Araújo Perdomo
Fernando 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...
, who was later named Minister of Foreign Relations and formerly Development Minister, and who escaped his captors on December 31, 2006; the escape of Colombian Conservative Party
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
congressman Óscar Tulio Lizcano
Oscar Tulio Lizcano
Óscar 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...
, on October 26, 2008; a July 2, 2008 Colombian military operation called Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque was a Colombian military operation that resulted in the freedom of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt. The hostages had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . The operation took place on July 2, 2008, along the...
, where the FARC-EP was tricked by the Colombian Government into releasing 15 hostages to Colombian Intelligence agents disguised as journalists and international aid workers in a helicopter rescue; the June 13, 2010 raid which released Police Colonel Luis Herlindo Mendieta Ovalle, Police Captain Enrique Murillo Sanchez, Police Lieutenante William Donato Gomez and Army Staff Sargeant Arbey Delgado Argote.
Hugo Chávez's call to stop branding FARC-EP as terrorists
Venezuelan President Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
urged European and Latin American governments on January 11, 2008 to stop branding Colombia's guerrillas as terrorists, a day after welcoming two hostages released by the rebels. "I am asking the governments (across Latin America) to take the FARC-EP and ELN (National Liberation Army
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....
) off their lists of global terrorist groups", Chávez told the National Assembly. His plea was futile: Colombian President Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
was quick to respond, ruling out any change in the FARC-EP's or ELN's status. Álvaro Uribe later issued a statement saying the insurgents are indeed terrorists who fund their operations with cocaine smuggling, recruit children and plant land mines in their effort to topple a democratically elected government.
Anti-FARC rallies
On February 4, 2008, several rallies were held in Colombia and in other locations around the world, criticizing FARC-EP for kidnapping and violence and demanding the liberation of hundreds of hostages. Participation estimates vary from the hundreds of thousands to several millions of people in Colombia and thousands worldwide. The protests were originally organized through the popular social networking site FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
by a 33 year old engineer, Oscar Morales, from his home in Barranquilla. Morales, along with other young professionals created a Facebook group called "Million Voices against the FARC", which quickly gained over 200,000 members from around the world. Morales was irritated with Hugo Chávez's suggestion that FARC-EP should be taken off of the European Union's list of international terrorist organizations and treated as a legitimate army. The organizing for the protests was also supported by local Colombian media outlets as well as the Colombian government.
President Uribe expressed "gratitude to all Colombians who today have expressed, with dignity and strength, the rejection of kidnapping and of the kidnappers." Vice President Francisco Santos
Francisco Santos Calderón
Francisco 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...
said that if the FARC continued their practices of kidnapping, that they would be politically marginalized. Supporters included freed hostage Clara Rojas
Clara Rojas
Clara Leticia Rojas González is a Colombian tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán on February 23, 2002, while Betancourt...
, 2002 running mate for 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...
, who said "I hope FARC is listening". Former hostage Luis Eladio Perez, who still remained in captivity at the time of the protest, remarked after his liberation that the rallies allowed those imprisoned by FARC to "feel the solidarity of Colombians for the first time". Opposition Senator Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego is a Colombian politician of the Political Independent movement Progresistas . As a young man he fought with the 19th of April Movement, which later evolved into the Alianza Democrática M-19. He then became active in newly-established Alianza Democrática M-19...
, after meeting with rally organizers and inquiring as to why the protest didn't address the actions of other violent actors such as the AUC
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
paramilitaries and 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....
guerrillas, acknowledged the protest march as a "democratic expression" of the citizenry against FARC and against kidnappings.
Shortly before the rallies took place thirteen demobilized AUC
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
paramilitary leaders, including Salvatore Mancuso
Salvatore Mancuso
Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso","Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group...
, had expressed their support of the protest through a communique. However, this move was rejected by organizer Carlos Andrés Santiago, who stated that such an endorsement was harmful and criticized the AUC's actions.
Critics have argued that the protests were primarily by upper-class Colombians, promoted and supported by government or business elites and also involved right-wing paramilitaries. The exclusive focus on FARC, instead of also criticizing the actions of the government and government-aligned paramilitaries responsible for most of the conflict's atrocities, was also questioned. Astrid Betancourt, sister of 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...
, condemned the march as a "manipulation" saying "it's propaganda, which while pretending to be against the FARC is completely organised by the government". Others said that right-wing paramilitary leaders played a role organizing the protests, businesses and government offices shut down for the day, bosses pressured workers to attend the gatherings and the mass media gave free advertising to the mobilization.
Neumayer and Raffl of the University of Salzburg
University of Salzburg
The University of Salzburg, or Paris Lodron University after its founder, the Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron, is located in the Austrian city of Salzburg, Salzburgerland, home of Mozart. It is divided into 4 faculties: catholic theology, law, humanities and natural science.Founded in 1622, it...
ICT&S Center have argued that since the protest was primarily organized via Facebook and only 1 out of 5 Colombians were estimated to have regular access to the Internet in 2007, the movement would have been more representative of upper class sentiments than those of Colombians who lack such access. They also mention that the protests tended to take place in wealthier cities and nations as measured by the Human Development Index
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
, in Colombia itself and worldwide, thus claiming that "even in geographical terms the protest was formed by a global elite". They acknowledged that the anti-FARC rallies were an example of how social software can "enhance political activism from a local to a worldwide scale" but also pointed out that the use of social networks remains a "privilege" given the "enormous part of the population" that is still excluded from the Internet as a whole.
The opposition Alternative Democratic Pole
Alternative Democratic Pole
The Alternative Democratic Pole is a political alliance in Colombia, formed by the Independent Democratic Pole and the Democratic Alternative in December 2005...
(Polo Democrático Alternativo) party leadership voted 18 to 3 against participating in the main protest, rejecting an initial proposal by Senator Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego is a Colombian politician of the Political Independent movement Progresistas . As a young man he fought with the 19th of April Movement, which later evolved into the Alianza Democrática M-19. He then became active in newly-established Alianza Democrática M-19...
, but unanimously accepted his subsequent request to hold a separate rally on the same date with the support of labor unions and human rights organizations. Carlos Gaviria Díaz
Carlos Gaviria Díaz
Carlos Emilio Gaviria Díaz is a Colombian lawyer, professor and politician. He served as the 5th Chief Magistrate of the Constitutional Court of Colombia, where he served as a Magistrate from 1993 to 2001...
, President of Polo Democrático said that while the party disapproves of the crimes of FARC, such as kidnapping and extortion, they also did not support the decision of the protest organizers to avoid criticizing the crimes of the paramilitary groups and the government, citing murders of teachers and trade union leaders and millions of people who have been displaced.
On July 20, 2008, a subsequent set of rallies against FARC included thousands of Colombians in Bogotá and hundreds of thousands throughout the rest of the country.
Death of Raúl Reyes
On March 1, 2008, the Colombian military attacked a FARC-EP camp inside EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
's territory, resulting in the death of over 20 people, with at least 17 of them being FARC-EP guerillas. Raúl Reyes
Raúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva , better known by his nom de guerre Raúl Reyes, was a Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP...
was among the dead, along with at least 16 of his fellow guerrillas. Raúl Reyes was FARC-EP's international spokesman and hostage release negotiator and considered to be FARC-EP's second-in-command. This incident led to a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Ecuador and Colombia, and between Venezuela and Colombia. Ecuador condemned the attack.
This is considered the biggest blow against FARC-EP in its more than four decades of existence.
This event was quickly followed by the death of Ivan Rios
Iván Ríos
José Juvenal Velandia, aka Iván Ríos, aka Manuel Jesús Muñoz Ortiz, , born in San Francisco, Putumayo, Colombia, was the Head of the Central Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the youngest member of this guerrilla's Central High Command.-Death:Ríos was killed by his security...
, another member of FARC-EP's seven-man Secretariat, less than a week later, by the hand of his own bodyguard. It came as a result of heavy Colombian military pressure and a reward offer of up to $5 million from the Colombian government.
Death of Manuel Marulanda Vélez
Manuel Marulanda Vélez died on March 26, 2008 after a heart attack. His death would be kept a secret, until Colombian magazine, Revista SemanaRevista Semana
Semana or Revista Semana is a Colombian-based weekly magazine. It was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo , but was shut down after a controversial cover depicting Cuban leader Fidel Castro.In 1983, journalist Felipe López Caballero re-founded the magazine...
, published an interview with Colombian defense minister Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
on May 24, 2008 in which Santos mentions the death of Manuel Marulanda Vélez. The news was confirmed by FARC-EP-commander 'Timochenko
Timoleón Jiménez
Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, also known under the nom de guerre Timoleón Jiménez or Timochenko is the highest in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ....
' on pan-Latin American television station teleSUR
TeleSUR
La Nueva Televisora del Sur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. TeleSUR was launched with the objective of providing information to promote the integration of Latin America....
on May 25, 2008. 'Timochenko' announced the new commander in chief is 'Alfonso Cano
Alfonso Cano
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas , more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano was the commander of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...
' After speculations in several national and international media about the 'softening up' of the FARC and the announcement of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe that several FARC-leaders were ready to surrender and liberate hostages, the secretariat of the FARC sent out a communiqué
Communique
A communiqué is a brief report or statement released by a public agency.Communiqué may also refer to:* Communiqué , a rock band* Communiqué , 1979* Communiqué , 1987...
emphasizing the death of their founder would not change their approach towards the hostages or the humanitarian agreement.
Hugo Chávez's call to disarm
On January 13, 2008, VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
stated his disapproval with the FARC-EP strategy of armed struggle and kidnapping saying "I don't agree with kidnapping and I don't agree with armed struggle". President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly stated his disapproval of the practice of kidnapping stating on April 14 that "If I were a guerrilla, I wouldn't have the need to hold a woman, a man who aren't soldiers...Free the civilians who don't have anything to do with the war. I don't agree with that.". On March 7 at the Cumbre de Rio, Chavez stated again that the FARC-EP should lay down their arms "Look at what has happened and is happening in Latin America, reflect on this (FARC-EP), we are done with war... enough with all this death". On June 8 Chavez repeated his call for a political solution and an end to the war, "The guerrilla war is history...At this moment in Latin America, an armed guerrilla movement is out of place".
Death of Alfonso Cano
On November 4, 2011 Columbian forces successfully attacked a FARC base in the jungle of the Cacua Department during "Operation Odysseus" killing FARC leader Alfonso Cano. On November 15, 2011 FARC publically named Timoleon Jimenez, also known as, "Timkencho" as the new leader of FARC's seven member governing secretariat.See also
- Paramilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...
- Military Structure of the FARC-EPMilitary Structure of the FARC-EPThe military structure of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo , formally began to be developed after the middle of 1964, when the Colombian Army occupied the town of Marquetalia.The Colombian Army claimed they were cleaning the last remnants of "bandolerism", a mob...
- Communism in ColombiaCommunism in ColombiaThe history of communism in Colombia goes back as far as the 1920s and has its roots in the idealism of the Russian October Revolution. Today the guerrilla groups, self-proclaimed as communists, state that they want to seize state power in Colombia by violent means, and the organizations such as...
Books
- Diario de la resistencia de Marquetalia, Jacobo Arenas, Ediciones Abejón Mono, 1972
- Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia, 1946-1953, Mary Roldan, Duke University Press, ISBN 0-8223-2918-2, 2002
- Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention, Garry M. Leech, Information Network of the Americas (INOTA), ISBN 0-9720384-0-X, 2002
- War in Colombia: Made in U.S.A., edited by Rebeca Toledo, Teresa Gutierrez, Sara Flounders and Andy McInerney, ISBN 0-9656916-9-1, 2003
- The Profits of Extermination: How U.S. Corporate Power is Destroying Colombia, Aviva Chomsky and Francisco Ramírez Cuellar, Common Courage Press, ISBN 1-56751-322-0, 2005
Journal articles
- Meza, Ricardo Vargas, "The FARC, the war and the crisis of the state". NACLA Report on the Americas (Mar/Apr98) Vol. 31, Issue 5
External links
- FARC-EP Official Website (no longer available—censored by U.S. government)
- Colombia Journal Home
- Red Resistencia - News about FARC-EP activities
- Center for International Policy - Colombia Program