Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia or FARC was established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, and is Colombia's oldest, largest, most capable, and best-equipped Marxist insurgency. The FARC is governed by a secretariat, led by septuagenarian Manuel Marulanda, a.k.a. "Tirofijo," and six others, including senior military commander Jorge Briceno, a.k.a. "Mono Jojoy." It is organized along military lines and includes several urban fronts. FARC has roughly 12,000 to 18,000 members and now controls approximately 40% of Colombian territory, mostly in the jungles of the southeast and the plains at the base of the Andes mountains.FARC says that it represents the rural poor against Colombia's wealthy classes and opposes the United States influence in Colombia (particularly Plan Colombia), the privatization of natural resources, multinational corporations, and rightwing paramilitary violence.
Critics of FARC often characterize FARC as a terrorist organization. They also claim that it, like the right-wing paramilitary groups that the Colombian government and American CIA are closely affiliated with, it attacks civilian targets and frequently recruits children as soldiers and informants. The United States Department of State includes FARC on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
FARC has employed bombings, killings, kidnapping, extortion, hijacking, as well as guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian political, military, and economic targets, and attacks on those it considers a threat to its movement.
In March 1999, the FARC killed three United States Indian rights activists on Venezuelan territory after kidnapping them in Colombia. FARC is responsible for most of the ransom kidnappings in Colombia; the group targets wealthy landowners, foreign tourists, and prominent international and domestic officials.
FARC is believed to have ties to narcotics traffickers, principally through the provision of armed protection.
FARC attacked a military base in Guaviare, Colombia on September 4, 1996 which started three weeks of guerrilla warfare that claimed the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
In 1998, Colombian President Andres Pastrana granted FARC a 42,000 square kilometer safe haven which was the FARC condition 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 FARC also used the safe haven to import arms, export drugs, recruit minors, and build up their military. After a series of high-profile actions, including the kidnapping of a Colombian presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt (who was traveling in guerrilla territory), Pastrana ended the peace talks in February 2002 and ordered Colombian forces to start retaking the FARC-controlled zone.Activities
Recent history
