The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasant self-defense groups formed from 1948 during the "Violencia" as a peasant force promoting a political line of agrarianism and anti-imperialism. They are known to employ a variety of military tactics, in addition to more unconventional methods, including terrorism.
Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist, especially opposing political corruption.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010.
Simón Trinidad is the alias of Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera Pineda, a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and reputedly the first high-ranking member of that guerrilla group to be captured. "Simón Trinidad" is currently serving a 60-year sentence in solitary confinement in the United States at ADX Florence "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado.
The Patriotic Union or UP is a leftist, Colombian political party, founded by the FARC and the Colombian Communist Party in 1985, as part of the peace negotiations that the guerrillas held with the Conservative Belisario Betancur administration.
The Colombian conflict began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups and crime syndicates, and far-left guerrilla groups, fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Some of the most important international contributors to the Colombian conflict include multinational corporations, the United States, Cuba, and the drug trafficking industry.
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas, more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano, was the commander of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. He succeeded founder Manuel Marulanda in March 2008 and commanded the Marxist rebel group until being killed in action by the Colombian Army.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia, which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict.
Tumaco is a port city and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia, by the Pacific Ocean. It is located on the southwestern corner of Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, and experiences a hot tropical climate. Tumaco is inhabited mainly by Afro-Colombians and some indigenous people.
Luis Edgar Devia Silva, better known by his nom de guerreRaúl Reyes, was a leader, Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army (FARC–EP). He died during an attack by the Colombian army 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) within Ecuador, sparking the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis.
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Valle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisis refers to the kidnapping of 12 Deputies of the Assembly of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on April 12, 2002 by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to pressure a prisoner exchange between them and the government and to negotiate the demilitarization of the municipalities of Florida and Pradera to initiate peace dialogues.
Gloria Polanco is a Colombian woman and former First Lady of the Huila Department as wife of then Governor of Huila Jaime Lozada Perdomo. She rose to prominence after being kidnapped by the FARC-EP along with two of her sons and other members of her building. During captivity she was elected Member of the Colombian Chamber of Representatives and placed in a list of high-profile kidnapped victims held by the FARC in hopes to have a prisoner exchange. She was finally released on February 27, 2008 along with three other high-profile hostages.
Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, most known under the nom de guerreTimoleón Jiménez and the nickname Timochenko or Timochenco, is a Colombian politician, cardiologist and former narcoguerrilla. He is best known as the former commander-in-chief of the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, currently serving as the president of its political successor Commons following the Colombian peace process.
Operation Jaque was a Colombian military operation that resulted in the successful rescue of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt. The hostages had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The operation took place on 2 July 2008, along the Apaporis River in the department of Guaviare.
Gerardo Aguilar Ramírez, known by his nom de guerreCésar, was a Colombian guerrilla leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He was the commander of the Eastern Bloc's 1st Front. For five years he was in charge of FARC's hostages, including former presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt.
Luis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal was a Colombian politician, serving as Mayor of Morelia, Governor of the Caquetá Department from 2008 to 2009, and Deputy Governor of Caqueta from 2000 to 2003. He is known for being kidnapped and murdered by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and for being kidnapped and held for ransom four times.
The Nariño massacres were two massacres of indigenous Awá people in the Nariño Department of Colombia perpetrated by members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2009. A total of 27 Awás were massacred, including women and young children.
On 20 July 2013, two clashes occurred in Colombia between government forces and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. Nineteen soldiers were killed in the deadliest day since peace talks began in November 2012. The conflict came one day after a FARC-EP officer Alejandra had detained with a chain around the neck a vacationing U.S. Army Combat Engineer (12B) veteran, Kevin Scott Sutay including for his 27th birthday in the jungle on October 13 to try and further anger him intentionally.
FARC dissidents, also known as Carlos Patino Front, are a group, formerly part of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who have refused to lay down their arms after the Colombian peace process came into effect in 2016, or resumed their insurgency afterwards. In 2018, the dissidents numbered some 2,000, to 2,500, armed combatants with an unknown number of civilian militia supporting them. The FARC dissidents have become "an increasing headache" for the Colombian armed forces, as they have to fight them, the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the Clan del Golfo at the same time.
