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Forty Years of Insurgency: Colombia’s Main Opposition Groups by Troy J. Sacquety For more than forty years, the government of FARC-EP: Fuezas Armadas Colombia has had to contend with an insurgency waged Revolucionarias de Colombia by multiple groups that represent a mosaic of conflict- Ejército del Pueblo (Revolu- ing ideologies, methods, and capabilities. This article tionary Armed Forces of Colom- will examine the three main insurgent groups currently bia of the People) active in Colombia. These are the left-wing Fuezas Arma- das Revolucionarias de Colombia Ejército del Pueblo (FARC- The most important insurgent EP) and Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), and the group in Colombia, which also right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self- represents the greatest threat FARC flag Defense Forces of Colombia or AUC). The now defunct to the government, is the FARC. “The 19th of April Movement,” or M-19 as it is better According to Jane’s International, it is the best-equipped, known, will also be discussed on account of its histori- trained, and organized insurgent group in Latin Ameri- cal importance. ca.2 Its arsenal includes heavy machineguns and, report- Although each group is distinct and both the FARC edly, man-portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS). and ELN oppose the AUC, they have some universal The FARC is potentially the world’s richest and best- trends that are true to varying degrees. All three are funded insurgent group with a yearly income of more considered terrorist organizations by the United States than one billion U.S. dollars. Given this level of funding, and the European Union, use the illegal drug trade as a the group has the capability to support a force several funding mechanism, and have employed child soldiers.1 times its current size of 14,000–17,000 members who are They can be considered as relatively decentralized orga- organized into groups called nizations that possess a unifying purpose and mission. “Fronts.”3 The founder and lead- Therefore, the local roles, missions, and alliances of a er of the FARC is Pedro Marín. particular group may vary, but the central beliefs and However, he is better known by purposes of each individual group remain the same. his nom de guerre, Manuel Maru- Recruits in these groups often are second and third gen- landa, or his nickname, Tirofijo, eration and may serve for ideological reasons or they may meaning “Sureshot, ” a reference be press-ganged. However, since the annual income of to his marksmanship. an average insurgent is many times greater than that of The FARC traces its roots to La the average rural Colombian, the financial rewards are a Violencia, the 1948–1966 Colom- On 7 November 1998, powerful motivator. bian civil war between the Con- Colombian President The following article will provide a brief description servatives and the Liberals that Andrés Pastrana Arango of each group. It will highlight that group’s particular claimed from 100,000 to 250,000 granted the FARC a history and political leanings, as well as their relative lives.4 Marín was the leader of a 42,000 square kilome- size and capabilities. By having a little knowledge of radical Liberal insurgent group ter demilitarized safe these groups, the reader will be better able to understand in La Violencia that later adopted area, known derisively the present operational environment in Colombia. a communist ideology. In 1964, as “FARClandia.” Here Pastrana and the FARC founder and leader, Pedro Antonio Marín, engage in unfruitful peace negotiations. Vol. 2 No. 4 47 American Hostages in Colombia Three U.S. citizens have been held captive by the the FARC released two policemen that had been held FARC since 13 February 2003. The contractors were since November 2005, to demonstrate goodwill and taken when the engine of their “sweeten the pot” for an exchange Cessna Caravan 208B died during of captured FARC guerrillas.2 In a counter-drug mission in south- total, the FARC holds some 60 eastern Colombia. Unfortunately, “political” prisoners hostage, the crash site was near a FARC including former Presidential-can- unit. The guerrillas took them cap- didate Íngrid Betancourt, accord- tive before rescue teams arrived. ing to various press reports.3 The Four of the five aboard the Cessna, FARC also holds an untold num- Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, ber of civilians—possibly over a Tom Janis, and Keith Stansell were thousand—for ransom or extortion Americans, and one, Luís Alcides money. The extent of the problem Cruz, was a Sergeant in the Colom- is considerable. Colombia has bian Army.1 Janis, the pilot, and the highest rate of kidnapping in Cruz were immediately executed. the world, and the vast majority The other three Americans were of these go unreported. In 2003 captured and taken hostage. They alone, Jane’s reported that an esti- remain in FARC custody today, mated 673 victims provided the four years later. FARC with more than $91 million Although the threat of kidnap- in ransom money.4 ping is a clear danger to American personnel, it applies equally to 1 John McQuaid, “Special Report: Fatal Mission,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, 9 other foreigners and Colombians. November 2003. Primarily the FARC, and to a lesser 2 International Committee of the Red Cross, degree the ELN, use kidnapping as “Colombia: two police officers released,” 25 March 2006, http://www.icrc.org/web/ a way to fund operations through eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/colombia-news- ransom money, or to gain a valu- 250306!OpenDocument. able strategic advantage. This is 3 The Economist: Economist Intelligence Unit, “Country Report: Colombia: “The political particularly true for members of the scene: Efforts commence to engage the Leaflets such as this, publicize Colombian government, military FARC,” 3 October, 2006, http://www.eiu.com; the plight of the three Ameri- or police forces. They are held by BBC News, “Colombia to vote on hostage cans in FARC custody. The swap,” 27 January, 2006, http://news.bbc. the FARC and used as bargaining leaflets offer a reward in return co.uk/2/hi/americas/4654440.stm. chips during peace negotiations, for information that might help 4 Jane’s Information Group, “Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC),” 16 or to foster a prisoner exchange. authorities secure a release for December 2005, http://www.janes.com. For instance, on 25 March, 2006, the captives. The FARC holds prisoners in com- This mural, in the Colombian National Military pounds such as this one. To com- Headquarters, brings attention to military and plicate rescue attempts, the FARC police captives remaining in FARC custody. periodically rotates groups to new Some hostages have been imprisoned for five locations. years or more. 48 Veritas the Colombian Army attacked the “independent repub- ELN: Ejército de Liberación lic” at Marguetalia. Marín escaped and joined with local Nacional (National Liberation Communist-inspired groups to form the FARC as the Army) armed wing of the Communist Party of Colombia.5 At the time, its numbers could be measured in the dozens. Like the FARC, the ELN is a Not until the early 1970s could the group deploy more Marxist-inspired group that than fifty fighters. It is now an extremely capable insur- formed in the mid-1960s. It is gent force with elements of combatants—including rapid second in size and importance ELN flag reaction forces and “tax collectors.” to the FARC, but is an impor- The group relies on a three-tiered funding mecha- tant political force. The group nism. The most important tier is involvement in the drug was formed in 1964, in the Santander region of northern trade, which includes trafficking as well as “taxing” pro- Colombia. It drew its inspiration from Marxist and Mao- duction. Tier two is nearly as lucrative as the drug trade, ist ideas, although some of the ELN’s early recruits were and involves extorting businesses or “taxing” landown- trained in Cuba and brought with them much inspiration ers.6 For example, in 2000, the FARC’s decree of Law 002, from the Cuban Revolution. The ELN also has a heavy announced that the group expected those worth over $1 influence from Roman Catholicism, and four of its early million to pay “taxes.”7 If not, they risked the threat of and influential members had previously been Catholic kidnapping for ransom, the third tier in the FARC’s way priests.14 The ELN is considerably anti-imperialist and of obtaining revenue. To date, the group holds dozens of resents outside influences on Colombia. The group has captives, including three Americans.8 been nothing but resilient. In the 1970s, it twice survived The FARC uses intimidation to prevent the local pop- near total annihilation. ulation from betraying it to the Colombian government. The ELN has historically dominated areas that Colom- This intimidation can range from veiled threats to out- bia’s petroleum pipelines traverse. Given its aversion to right assassinations or “disappearings,” in which the vic- outside influences on Colombia, it targets foreign oil tim is never seen nor heard from again. The FARC has also companies and receives a substantial amount of its fund- received outside training assistance—most notably from ing through extortion.15 In part due to moral aversion on the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—and is well versed in the part of its Catholic roots, the ELN’s involvement in the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).9 The most the drug trade is considered minor to that of the FARC. notorious IED in Colombia, the “bunker buster,” in IRA However, a third method of financing its operations parlance, or the “barbecue bomb,” is a propane cylinder comes through kidnapping and subsequent ransom.

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