http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224825.

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http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224828.htm

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Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

History and reason for formation
The FARC was founded during the Colombian armed conflict that started in 1964. It was
founded by Manuel Marulanda Velez, Jacobo Arena, and other Colombian Communist
Party members (PCC) when the US and Colombian government began attacking the
Marquetalia Republic community.
Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, also known as Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko is the
current highest in command of the FARC. He took over leadership in November 2011
after Alfonso Cano was killed by the Colombian Army
The FARC have an estimated strength of 8,000 men as of 2013.
Overview of their ideology
Stated goal- to overthrow the current democratic government in Colombia and replace it
with a communist government.
They believe radical change will be most quickly attained through violence and/or force
Profile- Radical, bold, fearless, brave, violent, angry, with a variety of ages of men. Their
thought process is that the U.S. government and the wave of capitalism has done
nothing for them but cause turmoil, and that the country would be better off under a
communist regime.

III. Tactics & support

A. FARC was involved in La Violencia,unnamed large attacks on the Colombian
government, and many other small attacks/kidnappings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_attributed_to_FARC
B. The main FARC supporters are peasants in rural Colombia and Venezuela, and other
supporters of Communistic values.
C. The FARC operations are funded by kidnap/ransom, illegal mining, extortion, taxation of
various forms of economic activity dealing with illegal drugs (production/distribution)
IV.
Timeline
A. La Violencia (1948-1958) sparked the beginning of civil war in Colombia and is the
conflict in which many of the terrorist groups, such as FARC, began to arise.
B. Attack on Marquetalia (May 1964) - The 40-50 survivors of the Marquetalia attack held a
meeting meant to create a more formal insurgent organization with their main goal of
seizing power from capitalists and using marxist fundamentals for their cause.
C. 1996 Las Delicias military base - After extensive planning and intel gathering, FARC
attacked a military base in the Putumayo department. 54 died, 15 were wounded, and
60 were captured. After 15 hours of fighting, the entire rural military base was
destroyed.
D. Bojay massacre (2002) - 119 civilians killed. Not extremely effective because they
were trying to take control of the Atrato River and they ended up failing to do so

E. June 24th 2005- One of the biggest attacks since 2000, here FARC attacked military
positions located in Puerto Asis in the Putumayo department. 25 were killed, 20 were
wounded.

V.

Risk of Stability to the local area, U.S., and world

A. We give them a score of 6. FARCs level of support is decreasing on the whole, they
have lost 16,000 supporters over the last decade. This obviously decreases their poise
as a threat to the surrounding area and the United States. However, they still conduct
violent missions and threaten Colombia with the possibility of communism. They are
also closer in proximity to the U.S. than most other terrorist organizations. They pose
the greatest risk the Colombia itself, and then the U.S., but they are likely not a big
enough threat to pose much risk to the world as a whole. Therefore, we gave them a
score of 6, not having other basises to compare them to.

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National Liberation Army (ELN)

History and Reason for Formation
The National Liberation Army was founded in 1964 by Fabio Vasquez Castano. The
group, a collection of Marxist/Liberation theology-favoring Colombians, was trained in
Communist Cuba by Castros Military. Upon Castanos death, the movement was lead
by a group of Roman Catholic Priests. One priest, Camilo Torres Restrepo, was
particularly influential in epitomizing what the movement was fighting for: Liberation and
Marxism on behalf of the overwhelmingly poor general population of Colombia.
The 1970 saw military defeat and a crisis within the organization. A new priest, Father
Manuel Perez Martinez, took control of the ELN, and lead until his death in 1998. Under
Martinez, the group solidified its ideology as a model of the Communist Cuban
Revolution. They also devised a plan to make Colombia into a Communist and Christian
regime in order to resolve the rampant poverty in the region.
The late 1970s saw the ELN manage to break free of their encirclement by the
Colombian National Army. After their rise back into prominence, they began to use
kidnap and extortion from oil companies in order to solidify their cash flow. From 20002007, the ELN kidnapped and caused the death of 153 hostages, overall kidnapping
over 3000 people since 2000. The group has, since ~2005, gradually began talks with
the government about negotiating an end to the kidnapping.
Overview of Their Ideology
Stated goal - The ELN's goals and ideology have shifted throughout its history. Its
original objective was to replace the Colombian government and create an egalitarian
democracy with special attention to representing the rural peasant class. As the ELN
became more radicalized, it pursued the Cuban model of pure socialism. In 1996, it

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backed away from creating a socialist state and reverted back to its original goal of an
egalitarian democracy.
They will not hesitate to kill if it means some benefit to them. They want as many
resources and people as possible, because they recognize how important it is to have
these resources for their own power.
Profile - The National Liberation Army is one of the two main guerrilla armies with leftwing political ideologies operating in Colombia. Initially a Marxist-Leninist nationalist
movement, it now appears more focused on kidnapping, extortion and attacks on
economic infrastructure. And while it supported drug trafficking for decades, it has
recently been linked to the narcotics trade and has sought alliances with large drug
trafficking organizations.
Tactics & Support
ELNs strength has fluctuated over time. In the 70s, its strength was reduced from 200
to about 35 due to a Colombian military attack. They regained numbers in the 80s,
reaching its peak number of supporters in the 90s. However, after 2000, it began seeing
the limit of what it could accomplish and started experiencing setbacks.
Their main tactics, which were very effective in the 1990s, were to become the most
prolific kidnapping organization in the country (and their goal was eventually to become
the most dangerous in the world).
They were often known for stealing oil, extorting companies, and earning large sums of
money by doing this type of thing.
IV.
Timeline
1. October 18, 1998: ELN guerrillas from the "Jose Antonio Galan Front"
blew up an Ocensa pipeline in the Colombian department of Antioquia. The
subsequent oil spill incinerated 46 houses, killing 84 people and injuring 30
others. ELN leader Nicolas Bautista later admitted that the attack was a
"tremendous error". (84 killed, 30 wounded).
2. April 1999: ELN guerrillas hijacked an Avianca flight, landed it in a
remote location and took all passengers and crew hostage. (1 killed, 46
hostages)
3. May 1999: ELN guerrillas dressed as Colombian military personnel
kidnapped 186 people from a Cal church. It is the single largest kidnapping in
Colombia's history. (Unknown casualties).
4. September 18, 2000: ELN guerrillas set up roadblocks outside the city
of Cali and kidnapped 58 people. Twenty-five of the victims were quickly
released because they were either not wealthy enough or too many members
of the same family were being held. (Unknown casualties)
5. October 7, 2009: ELN guerrillas helped Carlos Marin Guarin (aka
Gustavo Anibal Giraldo, aka Pablo or Pablito), one of their top leaders,
escape from a jail in Arauca as he was about to be moved to a jail in Bogota.
The operation, codenamed Operation Che Guevara, demonstrated the ELN's
increasing capabilities. (1 killed, 1 wounded).

V.

Risk of Stability to the Local Area

A. We give this group a rating of 4/10. Even though this group is still active today, we dont
see this as an immediate threat that the US needs to stop. There are much more
dangerous terrorist organizations in the world, and focusing resources to stop this one
wouldnt make much sense. However, they are still a dangerous organization that can
impact lives of people and significantly affect the economy, so there is a little bit of risk
involved. There is also talk of the ELN joining FARC, which could be much more
dangerous.