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.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense company. With 95,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. The firm ranked No. 101 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations.
Simón Trinidad is the alias of Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera Pineda, a high-ranking member of the former 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 near Florence, Colorado with a scheduled release date of February 17, 2055.
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.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is an Evangelical Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas. There are three major operational centers – Nampa, Idaho; Ashford, England; and Cairns, Australia. These centres provide operational support to programs in the Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. In 2010, MAF served in more than 55 countries, flying 201,710 passengers with a fleet of some 130 aircraft.
The Southern Bloc of the FARC-EP was the first bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to exist and is where the roots of the guerrilla movement lie. The bloc has been held responsible for several notorious attacks, including the infamous "donkey-bomb", numerous attacks against military bases, as well as Íngrid Betancourt´s kidnapping. It was also blamed by government investigators and prosecutors for the bombing of the El Nogal club. FARC itself denied that any of its members were responsible for the attack.
Operation Snowcap (1987–1995), launched in the spring of 1987, was a counter-narcotics operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), BORTAC and military/police forces in nine Latin American countries. Operation Snowcap followed Operation Blast Furnace, a four month operation that started in July 1986, which deployed 160 Army personnel and six Blackhawk helicopters to assist Bolivia in operations against cocaine laboratories in the Beni and Santa Cruz regions of Bolivia. At an annual cost to the DEA of $80 million, and involving approximately 140 agents at its onset, Snowcap was the largest counter-narcotics operation that had been launched in Latin America. The U.S. Department of Defense leased 6 UH-1 Huey helicopters, and provided flight training to Bolivian air force pilots and Special Forces training for UMOPAR and DEA agents.
Jhon Frank Pinchao Blanco is a Colombian policeman with the rank of Second Lieutenant who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group after Farc's attack on the town of Mitú, Vaupés Department on November 1, 1998. He escaped in 2007.
Kidnappings in Colombia refers to the practice of kidnapping in the Republic of Colombia. This criminal practice was first introduced in modern Colombian history during the early 1970s by the guerrilla movements and, later, also by criminal groups. With the release of Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt on July 2, 2008 this practice gained worldwide notoriety.
Gustavo Rueda Díaz, known by his nom de guerre Martín Caballero, was a Colombian guerrilla leader, member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and commander of the 37th Front Caribbean Bloc of the FARC-EP that operates in Caribbean Region. He was killed in action by the Colombian Army after a military operation on 25 October 2007. Colombian authorities wanted him on charges of rebellion, extortion, terrorism, first degree murder, armed assault, assault and battery and kidnapping among others. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos described his death as the "most important" blow against FARC in 2007.
The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord referred to a possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia.
Operation Emmanuel was a humanitarian operation that rescued politician Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel, and former senator Consuelo González from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Colombia. The operation was proposed and set up by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with the permission of the Colombian government of Álvaro Uribe. Chávez's plan was supported by the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and France, as well as the Red Cross, which also participated in the operation. Venezuelan aircraft were flown to an airport in the Colombian town of Villavicencio, were resupplied, and from there flew to the secret rescue point set up by the FARC. On December 26, 2007, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Colombian government approved the mission, only requesting that the aircraft used for the operations were labelled with Red Cross insignias.
Thomas Randolph Howes is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and eleven Colombian security personnel. On March 12, 2009, Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves were each awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom.
Keith Donald Stansell is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003, to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and eleven members of the Colombian security forces. On March 12, 2009, Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes were each awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom.
L'Opération 14 juillet was a failed French operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in July 2003. Organized by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, the mission failed to make contact with FARC guerrillas and eventually returned home. After details of the operation leaked in the Brazilian press, a political scandal erupted in France.
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.
Out of Captivity, subtitled Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle, is a 2009 book written by Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes with the assistance of author Gary Brozek. It narrates the nearly five and a half years they spent in the Colombian jungle as prisoners of the FARC, an insurgent organization, which accused them of being members of the CIA after their plane crashed in a mountainous region on February 13, 2003.
Tanja Nijmeijer, also known as Alexandra Nariño, is a Dutch former guerrilla fighter and English teacher who has been a member of the Colombian guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) since 2002. She has also been one of the group's leading public figures since the discovery of her diary in 2007. She was part of the negotiating team involved in successful peace talks with the Colombian government.
The Suriname Air Force is the air component of the Military of Suriname. All aircraft of the Suriname Air Force undertake border patrols, utility transport, and search and rescue missions from Zorg en Hoop Airport, the Air Force's main base. Aircraft are occasionally transferred to other air bases in the nation, which include Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, Major Fernandes Airfield, Albina Airstrip, and Moengo Airstrip. The head of the Suriname Air Force is the Commander of the Air Force, currently Lieutenant Colonel Marven van Huisduinen, who took over the role in March 2019 from former Commander Robert Kartodikromo. The Air Force is further split into several wings, including the Helicopter Wing, the current Commander of which being Captain John-Marc Arron.
