The United Self-Defenders of Colombia was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period from 1997 to 2006. The AUC was responsible for retaliations against the FARC and ELN communist organization as well as numerous attacks against civilians beginning in 1997 with the Mapiripán massacre.
The Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, was a drug cartel that operated principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia, most notably the coastal city of Buenaventura. It rose to prominence during the 1990s, after the Cali and Medellín Cartels fragmented, and it was known as one of the most powerful organizations in the illegal drug trade. The drug cartel was led by the brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias "Los Comba", until its takedown in 2008 by the authorities of Colombia and Venezuela, with cooperation of the United States DEA.
Los Pepes, a name derived from the Spanish phrase "Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar", was a paramilitary group composed of enemies of Pablo Escobar. They waged a small-scale war against the Medellín Cartel in 1993, which ended the same year following the death of Escobar. The group was financed by the Cali Cartel and was led by the Castaño brothers. An example of their acts could be seen on the streets of Medellín, such as hangings of Pablo's hitmen.
The Bojayá massacre was a massacre that occurred on May 2, 2002 in the town of Bellavista, Bojayá Municipality, Chocó Department, Colombia. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas attacked the town in an attempt to take control of the Atrato River region from United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries. During the fighting, a gas cylinder bomb launched at the AUC paramilitaries positioned by the walls of a church from a FARC mortar went through the roof of the church instead, landing on the altar inside and detonating. 119 civilians died in the attack; approximately 300 inhabitants of the town had taken refuge in the church, and 79 died in the explosion.
This article covers national and international security issues in Colombia.
The Western Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was the smallest of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's (FARC) blocs in size, although not in military capability. It was often held responsible for attacks that occurred in Cali and the surrounding area. The specific divisions of the group are arguable. Some of its divisions or fronts, as they were commonly known as, are shown below. Many of these fronts worked together at times towards a certain mission, while others were further divided into columns and companies with a smaller number of members. For more general information, see FARC-EP Chain of Command.
Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso", "Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group. The paramilitary groups commanded by Mancuso fought the guerrillas, and financed their activities by receiving donations from land owners, drug trafficking, extortions and robbery.
The Middle Magdalena Bloc of the FARC-EP was a FARC-EP bloc, notable for its involvement in the conflict with the AUC until the latter's demobilization in 2004. After that, it became one of the Colombian army's biggest worries as FARC started once again to gain control over the territory.
La Gabarra Massacre was a massacre that occurred on August 21, 1999 near the Colombian village of La Gabarra, Municipality of Tibú, Norte de Santander, near the Colombia–Venezuela border. It was perpetrated by members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia against alleged members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. At least 36 people were massacred.
Black Eagles was a term describing a series of Colombian drug trafficking, right-wing, counter-revolutionary, paramilitary organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, who emerged from the failures of the demobilization process between 2004 and 2006, which aimed to disarm the United Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC).
The illegal drug trade in Colombia has, since the 1970s, centered successively on four major drug trafficking cartels: Medellín, Cali, Norte del Valle, and North Coast, as well as several bandas criminales, or BACRIMs. The trade eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture, economics, and politics.
Iván Roberto Duque Gaviria aka Ernesto Báez was a Colombian paramilitary leader and onetime member of the demobilized United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Duque-Gaviria graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Caldas.
José Miguel Arroyave Ruiz aka "Arcángel" or also "the Chemist" was one of the top paramilitary leaders and commander of the Centaurs bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a 5,000-strong private militia active in the sparsely populated grasslands of eastern Colombia. He was also a powerful figure within the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), an umbrella organization bringing together right-wing paramilitary groups from all over the country. He was well known for being a ruthless fighter against guerrilla groups, and for being able to evict these rebel groups and take control of their territories. The Centaurs bloc was one of the largest and most powerful groups within the AUC, and was very well organized, to the point that they even had a running web page that is no longer in service (www.bloquecentauros.org).
Carlos Mario Jiménez Naranjo aka "Macaco" is a Colombian former drug lord and paramilitary leader. Jimenez was a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group which demobilized between 2005 and 2007. Jimenez ordered the assassination of numerous people in the region of the Santander and North Santander specially in the city of Barrancabermeja where his organization confronted and defeated the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the control of the territory. Jimenez was the commander in chief of the Central Bolívar Bloc of the AUC.
Pablo Catatumbo Torres Victoria is a Colombian politician. A former guerrilla leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), he was part of their secretariat, FARC's higher command. Catatumbo took command of several FARC fronts in Chocó and Valle del Cauca in the 1990s, after which they grew in size and became strong enough to fight the paramilitary group AUC in the region.
The Central Bolívar Bloc was a Colombian paramilitary organization and a bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).
Pedro Oliveiro Guerrero Castillo, also known as Cuchillo, and as Didier, was a Colombian drug lord and the former leader of the Colombian Popular Revolutionary Anti-communist Army, a drug trafficking, right wing paramilitary organization. His nickname came from the favoured weapon he used on his victims.
The Clan del Golfo, also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a prominent Colombian neo-paramilitary group and currently the country's largest drug cartel.
Libertadores del Vichada, was a Colombian drug trafficking neo-paramilitary group involved in the Colombian armed conflict. It is considered to be one of the most important drug trafficking organizations in eastern Colombia. The group is led by Martín Farfán Díaz González, alias 'Pijarbey,' a former leader of the neo-paramilitary group ERPAC. According to Colombia's prosecutor general, Díaz González is responsible for several homicides and acts of terrorism against the civilian population. The last leader of the criminal group was captured September 22, 2017, in Villavicencio (Meta). With this capture, according to statements by the Ministry of Defence, the organization is completely dismantled.
Bloque Meta was a Colombian drug trafficking, neo-paramilitary organization engaged in the Colombian armed conflict. Bloque Meta's history can be traced back to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC. When the AUC demobilized in 2006, many former members of the organization formed ERPAC, which would later partly become the Bloque Meta, to continue the counterrevolutionary struggle against the FARC in Colombia's eastern plains. Above all, the Bloque Meta is considered one of Colombia's most brutal drug trafficking organizations. The group could have some 260 members in total. The last leader of the criminal group, Arnulfo Hernandez Guzman, also known as Tigre, was captured September 22, 2017, in Villavicencio (Meta). With this capture, according to statements by the Ministry of Defence, the organization is completely dismantled.
