Security issues in Colombia
Encyclopedia
This article covers national
and international security
issues in Colombia
.
. The two countries have not allowed the occasional security incidents involving Colombian guerrillas and paramilitaries along their long common border to escalate into a serious issue since both nations concluded a bilateral free-trade agreement in 1991.
The already strong cross-border trade links between Colombia and Venezuela were solidified in July 2004 with an agreement to build a US$200 million natural gas
pipeline between the two countries. As a friendly gesture on that occasion, President Álvaro Uribe
cancelled the planned purchase of French made AMX-30 tanks from Spain
and their deployment on the border with Venezuela.
s. Most Colombian government institutions have a reputation for inefficient, corrupt, and bureaucratic management, with the notable exceptions of the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, and some other agencies responsible for economic policy formulation.
Common crime is rampant and often carried out with impunity. Officially registered homicides in Colombia reached a historic record of 28,837 in 2002, but declined by 20 percent in 2003 to 23,013. The high homicide rate is also fueled by high unemployment
, growing poverty, the ready availability of guns, and the growth of drug trafficking and organized crime. Criminal bands specializing in kidnapping, extortion, and robbery target businesses and civilians. Kidnapping exceeded a record 3,700 reported cases in 2000, but subsequently declined to 2,986 cases in 2002 as a result of improved law enforcement; the figure projected for 2003 was between 2,500 and 2,700. Guerrilla and paramilitary groups are responsible for about 68 percent of kidnappings and organized crime, about 32 percent.
Activities by foreign terrorist or drug-trafficking groups in Colombia have been minimal, consisting mostly of criminal activities involving Maicao-based Hezbollah members or international crime groups, such as the Russian Mafia
, which was last reported to have supplied the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) with sophisticated weapons in 2000. In 1998 an Islamic terrorist was deported for engaging in illegal transactions with the FARC.
government responded in November 1998 by granting the FARC a 51,000-square-kilometer demilitarized zone (DMZ) in southeast Colombia as a concession in exchange for beginning peace talks. However, the FARC used the DMZ
as a haven to increase illicit drug crops, transport military equipment and provisions, and negotiate kidnappings and extortions. After peace negotiations collapsed in early 2002, security forces retook the DMZ on February 20.
Until 2002, the armed conflict was fought primarily in the countryside. Since then, the FARC, having honed its remote-control bombing techniques with the aid of Europe-based terrorist groups, has expanded its operations to include occasional indiscriminate terrorist bombings and other attacks in Bogotá
. Numerous bombings have been attributed to the FARC. One such bombing was the El Nogal club bombing
in 2003. FARC itself denied that any of its members were involved in this attack.
With the support of the United States, the administration of President Uribe has sought to professionalize the armed forces and to engage them more fully in the counterinsurgency war; as a result, the armed groups have suffered a series of setbacks. The president’s plan includes the formation of platoons of “peasant soldiers,” or locally recruited men, to provide guard duty around previously unguarded municipalities in support of the police and regular troops. By August 2004, more than 8,000 peasant soldiers had been recruited and trained, and plans called for increasing that number to 15,000 across the country by 2006.
In 2003 the FARC had an estimated force of as many as 18,000 active members plus a 5,000-member urban militia; the ELN had an estimated 3,500 members plus an urban militia; and the EPL had an estimated 500 members. In August 2003, under increasing pressure by the armed forces, the FARC and the ELN announced an alliance. This partnership had already been a reality in certain parts of the country where ELN and FARC units fought side by side, and has been broadened to include the whole country.
The alliance has not made any significant difference yet, but in the long term the two groups pose a much greater threat jointly than they do separately, as the military power of the FARC and the political strength of the ELN complement each other. At January 2009, estimates point that the policy of the Uribe Administration of demovilization promises and intense pressure from the Army has left half of the recruits the FARC had at the start of the decade. Calculations point 7,000 members, and each day more guerrilla fighters demovilize and leave FARC.
The Uribe government has rejected the guerrilla demands for prisoner exchanges and demilitarized zones as a precondition for peace talks. By 2004 stepped-up government actions against the guerrillas with the help of significant U.S. military aid had kept the guerrillas mostly withdrawn into the countryside, while government efforts to improve the economy and reduce cocaine production were showing results. Although it is generally believed that the left-wing guerrillas have little chance of taking power in Colombia, they continue to engage in terrorist activities.
Analysts believe that it would take years for the armed forces to make any significant progress in reducing the territory held by the armed groups, since the Uribe administration progress in this topic has progressed far beyond expectations, where at this point, FARC forces are in retreat plan to the jungles and are constantly attacked by the Colombian army.
(Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia—AUC), had an estimated 10,600 members. It operated as a loose confederation of disparate paramilitary groups, the largest of which was the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá
(Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá—ACCU). Other important paramilitary organizations that existed vefore the 2004 peace talks included the Cacique Nutibara Bloc
(Bloque Cacique Nutibara—BCN), the Central Bolivar Bloc
(Bloque Central Bolívar—BCB), and the Middle Magdalena Bloc (Bloque del Magdalena Medio—BMM). These groups are were involved in battling the guerrillas and terrorizing their supporters or sympathizers among the civilian population.
The Uribe administration opened formal negotiations with the AUC in July 2003 with the goal of demobilization of the AUC by late 2005. Obstacles included immunity from prosecution for their crimes and U.S. extradition warrants for AUC leaders, several of whom have been indicted for drug trafficking. Nevertheless, at the start of October 2004 the AUC announced unilaterally a partial disarmament, with 3,000 of its fighters located along the border with Venezuela disarming by the end of the year, and now the entire organization demovilized.
A small faction of ex-paramilitary people called the "Águilas Negras" returned to action, although compared with what the AUC were, it comprises a decline of over 92% of their forces. The "Águilas Negras", has plunged into a different line of action from the AUC, as they have engaged in cooperation with FARC in some drug operations.
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and international security
International security
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security...
issues 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...
.
External threats
Colombia does not face any known foreign threats. The only neighbor that might pose a potential military challenge over as-yet unresolved territorial disputes relating to the maritime boundary, where there may be oilfields, would be 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...
. The two countries have not allowed the occasional security incidents involving Colombian guerrillas and paramilitaries along their long common border to escalate into a serious issue since both nations concluded a bilateral free-trade agreement in 1991.
The already strong cross-border trade links between Colombia and Venezuela were solidified in July 2004 with an agreement to build a US$200 million natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
pipeline between the two countries. As a friendly gesture on that occasion, 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....
cancelled the planned purchase of French made AMX-30 tanks from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and their deployment on the border with Venezuela.
Internal threats
Despite endemic violence stemming from left-wing guerrilla activity, paramilitary groups, and drug traffickers, constitutional order and institutional stability have prevailed. Nevertheless, the country’s political and social foundations have been undermined by the violence and corruption associated with the enormous wealth created by the drug cartelDrug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
s. Most Colombian government institutions have a reputation for inefficient, corrupt, and bureaucratic management, with the notable exceptions of the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, and some other agencies responsible for economic policy formulation.
Common crime is rampant and often carried out with impunity. Officially registered homicides in Colombia reached a historic record of 28,837 in 2002, but declined by 20 percent in 2003 to 23,013. The high homicide rate is also fueled by high unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, growing poverty, the ready availability of guns, and the growth of drug trafficking and organized crime. Criminal bands specializing in kidnapping, extortion, and robbery target businesses and civilians. Kidnapping exceeded a record 3,700 reported cases in 2000, but subsequently declined to 2,986 cases in 2002 as a result of improved law enforcement; the figure projected for 2003 was between 2,500 and 2,700. Guerrilla and paramilitary groups are responsible for about 68 percent of kidnappings and organized crime, about 32 percent.
Activities by foreign terrorist or drug-trafficking groups in Colombia have been minimal, consisting mostly of criminal activities involving Maicao-based Hezbollah members or international crime groups, such as the Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
, which was last reported to have supplied the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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...
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) with sophisticated weapons in 2000. In 1998 an Islamic terrorist was deported for engaging in illegal transactions with the FARC.
Guerrillas
Two major guerrilla organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) and the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional—ELN), plus a smaller Popular Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberación or EPL) group continue to be active. In 1996–98 the FARC and ELN extended their presence in the national territory and scored some strategic gains against the poorly led armed forces by besieging and easily overrunning isolated military garrisons. The 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:...
government responded in November 1998 by granting the FARC a 51,000-square-kilometer demilitarized zone (DMZ) in southeast Colombia as a concession in exchange for beginning peace talks. However, the FARC used the DMZ
Demilitarized zone
In military terms, a demilitarized zone is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more military powers , where military activity is not permitted, usually by peace treaty, armistice, or other bilateral or multilateral agreement...
as a haven to increase illicit drug crops, transport military equipment and provisions, and negotiate kidnappings and extortions. After peace negotiations collapsed in early 2002, security forces retook the DMZ on February 20.
Until 2002, the armed conflict was fought primarily in the countryside. Since then, the FARC, having honed its remote-control bombing techniques with the aid of Europe-based terrorist groups, has expanded its operations to include occasional indiscriminate terrorist bombings and other attacks 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...
. Numerous bombings have been attributed to the FARC. One such bombing was the El Nogal club bombing
2003 El Nogal Club bombing
The 2003 El Nogal Club bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred in Bogotá, Colombia. On February 7, 2003, a car containing 200 kg of explosives that was parked in a garage on the third floor of the multi-story El Nogal club exploded, killing 36 people and wounding more than 200. There were...
in 2003. FARC itself denied that any of its members were involved in this attack.
With the support of the United States, the administration of President Uribe has sought to professionalize the armed forces and to engage them more fully in the counterinsurgency war; as a result, the armed groups have suffered a series of setbacks. The president’s plan includes the formation of platoons of “peasant soldiers,” or locally recruited men, to provide guard duty around previously unguarded municipalities in support of the police and regular troops. By August 2004, more than 8,000 peasant soldiers had been recruited and trained, and plans called for increasing that number to 15,000 across the country by 2006.
In 2003 the FARC had an estimated force of as many as 18,000 active members plus a 5,000-member urban militia; the ELN had an estimated 3,500 members plus an urban militia; and the EPL had an estimated 500 members. In August 2003, under increasing pressure by the armed forces, the FARC and the ELN announced an alliance. This partnership had already been a reality in certain parts of the country where ELN and FARC units fought side by side, and has been broadened to include the whole country.
The alliance has not made any significant difference yet, but in the long term the two groups pose a much greater threat jointly than they do separately, as the military power of the FARC and the political strength of the ELN complement each other. At January 2009, estimates point that the policy of the Uribe Administration of demovilization promises and intense pressure from the Army has left half of the recruits the FARC had at the start of the decade. Calculations point 7,000 members, and each day more guerrilla fighters demovilize and leave FARC.
The Uribe government has rejected the guerrilla demands for prisoner exchanges and demilitarized zones as a precondition for peace talks. By 2004 stepped-up government actions against the guerrillas with the help of significant U.S. military aid had kept the guerrillas mostly withdrawn into the countryside, while government efforts to improve the economy and reduce cocaine production were showing results. Although it is generally believed that the left-wing guerrillas have little chance of taking power in Colombia, they continue to engage in terrorist activities.
Analysts believe that it would take years for the armed forces to make any significant progress in reducing the territory held by the armed groups, since the Uribe administration progress in this topic has progressed far beyond expectations, where at this point, FARC forces are in retreat plan to the jungles and are constantly attacked by the Colombian army.
Right-Wing Illegal Paramilitary Forces
The largest paramilitary organization, the United Self-Defense Forces of ColombiaUnited Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
(Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia—AUC), had an estimated 10,600 members. It operated as a loose confederation of disparate paramilitary groups, the largest of which was the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá
Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá
Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá , Spanish for Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá, was a paramilitary group formed in northwestern Colombia, operating mainly in the Antioquia Department and Córdoba Department...
(Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá—ACCU). Other important paramilitary organizations that existed vefore the 2004 peace talks included the Cacique Nutibara Bloc
Cacique Nutibara Bloc
The Cacique Nutivara Bloc was a Colombian paramilitary bloc founded by Diego Murillo Bejarano, affiliated with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary umbrella group....
(Bloque Cacique Nutibara—BCN), the Central Bolivar Bloc
Central Bolívar Bloc
The Central Bolívar Bloc was a Colombian paramilitary organization and a bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia .-Demobilization:...
(Bloque Central Bolívar—BCB), and the Middle Magdalena Bloc (Bloque del Magdalena Medio—BMM). These groups are were involved in battling the guerrillas and terrorizing their supporters or sympathizers among the civilian population.
The Uribe administration opened formal negotiations with the AUC in July 2003 with the goal of demobilization of the AUC by late 2005. Obstacles included immunity from prosecution for their crimes and U.S. extradition warrants for AUC leaders, several of whom have been indicted for drug trafficking. Nevertheless, at the start of October 2004 the AUC announced unilaterally a partial disarmament, with 3,000 of its fighters located along the border with Venezuela disarming by the end of the year, and now the entire organization demovilized.
A small faction of ex-paramilitary people called the "Águilas Negras" returned to action, although compared with what the AUC were, it comprises a decline of over 92% of their forces. The "Águilas Negras", has plunged into a different line of action from the AUC, as they have engaged in cooperation with FARC in some drug operations.
See also
- Foreign relations of ColombiaForeign relations of ColombiaColombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is very open, relying on international trade and following the guidelines given by the international law.Regional relations...
- Kidnappings in ColombiaKidnappings in ColombiaKidnappings in Colombia refers to the practice of kidnapping in the Republic of Colombia. This criminal practice was first introduced in modern Colombian history during the early 1970s by the guerrilla movements and, later, also by criminal groups...
- Narcotrafficking in Colombia