FlashPoints

Colombia:

Related Resources

Additional Information

Click here for Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in

Population: 43,000,000
Area: 440,000 sq. mi.
Capital: Bogata

Colombians declared independence from Spain in 1813 and established the Republic of Greater Colombia in 1819, which included what are now Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. The first President was Simon Bolivar, leader of the Conservatives, who favored a strong central government, affiliation with the Catholic Church and limited suffrage. The opposition Liberals opted for decentralized government, but secular control over education and civil affairs, with more widespread voting rights. For much of its history Colombia has had a democratic, elected government, but it has also suffered from two civil wars - the first in 1899-1902, the second, La Violencia from 1948-1953. La Violencia erupted after the killing of the Labor Party leader and continued between armed Labor and Conservatives until constitutional reform in 1957 guaranteed alternating government control between these two parties. I

t’s reported that by the 1960’s American companies controlled 80-90% of banana production and mining and more than 95% of Colombia’s energy production. By 1964 guerilla movements appeared - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), led by Manuel Marulanda (a.k.a. "Sureshot")and Jacabo Arenas, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and later the April 19 Revolutionary Movement (M-19). According to U.S. government sources these revolutionaries were "Cuban-backed insurgencies that sought to undermine Colombia’s traditional democratic system." The alternative view is that these guerillas were popular movements fighting U.S. imperialist system that benefited the rich and exploited the poor campesinos.

Guerillas fighting continued until 1984 when President Betancur arranged a ceasefire with M-19 leader Jamie Bateman and later with FARC. Betancur initiated talks with the guerilla leaders despite the objections from large landowners, who called the talks "a concession to subversion" and re-established private paramilitaries armies. The M-19 ceasefire ended after Bateman was killed in a suspicious airplane crash. After FARC evolved into the Union Patriotica (UP) a legal political organization, paramilitary violence targeting UP members led to an end of the truce in 1990.


		The communist-oriented FARC guerillas declared an independent republic in the remote southern province of Tolima and fought for survival against the Colombian army, while building on its peasant constituency. Over time FARC, which opposed drug production, expanded its areas of control, opening multiple "fronts" against government forces and collecting taxes. Large landowners organized private paramilitary armies and hired mercenaries to fend off the guerillas. Some of the paramilitaries were also involved with drug lords, who were gaining increasing power. To protect their position FARC also became involved with drug trafficking and its forces increased from 300 in 1966 to over 20,000 by 2000.

Initially the ELN was more directly involved with Cuba and guided by a small cadre of with Catholic priests, but failed to develop widespread support, or military capability. It reappeared in 1980, led by Father Manuel Perez, and focused on oil-rich northeastern Colombia, where the ELN raised funds by extorting money from multinational oil companies. It too grew and expanded activities reaching a troop approaching 5000 by 2000.

In addition to FARC and ELN, there are substantial paramilitary forces, known as "autodefensas" or self-defense forces; sometimes these loosely affiliated groups are referred to as the AUC. The paramilitaries attack FARC and ELN forces, operate death squads to kill and intimidate local civilians to diminish support for the guerillas and are also deeply involved in the drug trade. It’s often alleged that AUC paramilitaries are also associated with and supported by the Colombian army, in what becomes a vicious cycle of terror, violence, drugs and a human rights nightmare.


		In 1998, Conservative Andres Pastrana was elected President and optimistically vowing peaceful resolution to Colombia’s multi-faceted conflicted and full-scale war against illegal drugs. As Colombia’s economy faltered, Pastrana introduced the controversial Plan Colombia in 1999. According to Amnesty International, Plan Colombia was initially designed to attract financial aid to support the peace process, but evolved into a primarily military plan to combat drug production and trafficking in order to attract substantial U.S. financial backing. The U.S. then waived requirements for Colombia to improve its dismal human rights practices, including severing its "alleged" relations with the AUC.

Colombia remains the kidnapping capitol of the world and has fertilized its drug crops with the bodies of hundreds of thousands of people killed in decades of violence. President Pastrana appears to be the only person who believes in his plan for peace, and prosperity without drugs.

Guerrillera

A poem by Manuela, age 15

The world over your head
And the rifle on your back

Over your head of wind,
The parched land and scarce rain

Over your head of rain,
The solid palm and fire dances

Over your head of fire,
The powerful idea, the evil hunger

Over your head and idea of hunger,
The light of independence, the precious jewel

Over your head of jewel,
The forest grows and you fly with hope

Over your head of hope
Love reigns, the fish talk to you

Over your head of fish
The dawn carves the wisdom of the water's old age

Over your head of water
The coffee boils, the homeland is born

Over your tender head
Over your woman guerrilla's head

The world over your head
And the rifle on your back

Armed Groups in Colombia

FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia)

Originating in peasant self-defense groups in the 1950s, it emerged in 1964 as the pro-Moscow armed wing of the Partido Comunista Colombiano (PCC). It overshadowed the PCC and became an independent organisation, ostensibly, at least initially, supporting the interests of the poor (it called for example, for agrarian reform, nationalization of foreign enterprises, a 50% reduction in land and property taxes and a 40% reduction in public utility charges). In 1983, the FARC accepted the government's offer of a general amnesty to guerrilla groups and a partial cease-fire, which was formalized in March 1984. The following year, the FARC joined with democratic left-wing groups, including its original sponsor, the PCC, in forming the UP. The cease-fire agreement was renewed in March 1986, but, following the government's failure to guarantee the safety of UP election candidates, the FARC returned, by late 1987, to a policy of "total insurrection". In 1997 FARC set out conditions for entering into peace talks with the government: the dismantling of what it described as the national security doctrine, paramilitary structures and legal self-defense groups (CONVIVIRS); suspension of special public order zones; and the introduction of a number of unspecified democratic reforms.

Leader: Manuel Marulanda Velez

ELN - Army of National Liberation
(Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional)

Established in July 1964 by Fabio Vasquez Castano, a student leader ideologically linked to the Movimiento de Obreros, Estudiantes y Campesinos (MOEC - Movement of Workers, Students and Peasants) , Colombia's first revolutionary group. A Marxist, pro-Cuban movement, its objective was the "conquest of power for the popular classes". A predominantly student and middle class movement, with strong ties to the University of Santander in Bucaramanga, it first operated mainly in rural areas in northeastern Colombia. It also had links with guerrilla forces in El Salvador, Peru and Venezuela. Leader: Manuel Perez Martinez, a Spanish-born ex-priest. The ELN previously included the Corriente de Renovacion Socialista (CRS), Frente Simon Bolivar and Frente Antonio Narino but these ceased hostilities (CRS won 2 seats in the House of Representatives in the 1994 elections).

EPL - Popular Liberation Army
(Ejercito Popular de Liberacion)

Jaime Bateman Cayon (JBC) Established in 1989, when the vast majority of M-19 supporters abandoned the armed struggle, the JBC is named after an M-19 leader killed in 1983, who, two years before his death, had emerged as a moderate leader favoring a constitutional approach but who then repudiated a peace agreement with the government. The JBC is now led by Alberto Morales Restrepo and Alonso Grajales Lemus. The JBC first aligned themselves with the ELN, and later the FARC, although it has operated essentially on its own. In 1995, it was the group responsible for the kidnapping of the British Defence Attache's Assistant in Bogota for 4 months.

Patria Libre (Free Homeland) Established 1985.

Frente Ricardo Franco (Ricardo Franco Front). Emerged in the mid-1980s as a particularly violent, dissident group within the FARC totally opposed to peace talks, which even carried out attacks on the FARC leadership. Leader: Giver Delgado and Jose Fedor Rey.

Movimiento Independiente Revolucionario - Comandos Armados Revolucionarios (MIR-COAR, Independent Revolutionary Movement/Revolutionary Armed Commandos). Leaders: Mario Gutierrez and Julian Guevara Zapata. It signed a preliminary peace agreement with the government in January 1997.

Coordinadora Nacional Guerrillera (CNG - National Guerrilla Coordination) Established in late 1985 by FARC, ELN, M19, EPL, Patria Libre, Frente Ricardo Franco and the Comando Quintin Lame and was led by Giver Delgado. In 1986, the CNG reached agreement with the Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (Peru), the "Alfaro Vive" Carajo! (Ecuador and other guerrilla groups in Panama and Venezuela to launch the Batallon America as the projected core of a Bolivarian army composed of guerrillas from countries liberated by Simon Bolivar in the 19th century. In 1987, the Coordinadora Guerrillera Simon Bolivar (CGSB - Simon Bolivar Guerrilla Coordination) became the organisation in Colombia responsible for negotiating with the government. The CGSB is still in being as an umbrella organisation.

PARAMILITARY GROUPS

Self-Defense Units (Autodefensas) organized mainly by property owners.

Autodefensas Campesinas de Cordoba y Uraba (ACCU - Peasant Self-defense Groups of Cordoba and Uraba).

Established 1981. Led by Charles Castano, it is thought to be about 2,000 strong and operates in the Uraba area of Antioquia and in various towns in Cordoba, as well as in the south of Bolivar and Santander. In April 1997, it was reported that the ACCU was joining forces with similar groups in Magdalena Medio and the eastern plains to form the United Self-defense Groups of Colombia (AUC).

Autodefensas de Victor Caranza (Victor Caranza's Self-defense Group).

Caranza, the biggest emerald dealer in Colombia, and a large land and cattle owner, has various groups of 20-50 men operating in Casanare and in Puerto Lopez.

Autodefensas del Magdalena Medio (Self-defense Group of Magdalena Medio).

Established 1982 by the army. It has 120 men and the support of some 200 peasant farmers.

Autodefensas de Patevaca (Self-defense Group of Patevaca, Cundinamarca).

Established 1982 by a group that used to belong to the Autodefensas del Magdalena Medio, the two groups have worked together in the past three years. The Patevaca group has 70 men and 300 peasant farmers in support.

Autodefensas de Doradal (Self-defense Group of Doradal, Antioquia).

Established 1991, it separated from the Puerto Boyaca group. Led by Emilio Isaza Arango, it has some 60 men. Previously looked after coca production facilities, but thee have been destroyed.

Autodefensas de Sincelejo (Self-defense Group of Sincelejo, Sucre)

Led by ex-Senator Miguel Angel Nuleamin, it has some 20 men and is independent of the Cordoba-Uraba paramilitaries, but they occasionally help each other.

Autodefensas de Caucasia, de Taraza y de Puerto Berrio (Self-defense Group of Caucasia, Taraza and Puerto Berrio).

These groups, all in Antioquia, are led by local farmers and businessmen and each has some 20-25 men.

Autodefensas de Planeta Rica (Self-defense Groups of Planeta Rica). Operates in Cordoba, led by 2 cattle ranchers with some 15 men.

Guaviare Front. Claimed responsibility for the torture and massacre of 30 people in Mapirian, Meta province, on 20 July 1997.

Martyrs of Kidnapping. Believed to have been established by local drugs-traffickers, the ACCU having denied links with them.

Alianza Anticomunista Americana. Established 1970s.

Norte Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Leader: Hernan Gerald.

Muerte a Secuestradores (MAS - death to Kidnappers). Established 1982, with the aim of eradicating guerrillas.

Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar (PEPE - Persons Persecuted by Pablo Escobar). Established 1993 with the aim of taking revenge on Escobar's family and associates for their crimes.

Movimiento de Restauracion Nacional (MORENA - National Restoration Movement). Established 1989, MORENA is sometimes classified as a political group with links to right-wing self-defense forces. Leader: Ivan Roberto Duque.

Legion Aguilas Blancas (White Eagles Legion).

CONVIVIRS (Associations and Cooperatives for Rural and Urban Security). Legal bodies, established by the government in April 1995. 530 associations were in being by February 1997. In November 1997 the Constitutional Court determined that the Convivir were a constitutional means for combating guerrillas, but that the Convivir must relinquish rifles, machine guns and other restricted weaponry in their possession.

Related Resources:

ELN - Voces

http://www.eln-voces.com

Patria Libre.org

http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/rpl

Resistencia Nacional

http://www.resistencianacional.org/

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

http://www.farc-ep.org/

FARC-EP

http://www.contrast.org/mirrors/farc/

Autodefensa (AUC) Paramilitaries