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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.
The United Self-Defences 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.
Plan Colombia was a United States foreign aid, military aid, and diplomatic initiative aimed at combating Colombian drug cartels and left-wing insurgent groups in Colombia. The plan was originally conceived in 1999 by the administrations of Colombian President Andrés Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton, and signed into law in the United States in 2000.
The National Liberation Army is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocate a composite communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism and liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Venezuela's National Assembly.
The Urban Counter-Terrorism Special Forces Group - Alpha, otherwise known as AFEUR or AFEAU is the army detachment of the elite AFEAU special operations group within the Colombian Armed Forces, dedicated to performing counter-terrorism operations, HVT acquisition or elimination, and hostage rescue.
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.
The Administrative Department of Security was the security service agency of Colombia, which was also responsible for border and immigration services. It was dissolved on 31 October 2011 as part of a wider Executive Reform, and was replaced by the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia (DNI).
"Marquetalia Republic" was an unofficial term used to refer to one of the enclaves in rural Colombia which communist peasant guerrillas held during the aftermath of "La Violencia". Congressmen of the Colombian Conservative Party described these enclaves, including Marquetalia, as "independent republics" which needed to be brought under state control through military force. This area was eventually overrun by the National Army of Colombia in May 1964.
The National Army of Colombia is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, and the third largest army in the Americas after Brazil and the United States.
The military structure of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo, formally began to be developed after the middle of 1964, when the Colombian Army occupied the town of Marquetalia.
Right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia are paramilitary groups acting in opposition to revolutionary Marxist–Leninist guerrilla forces and their allies among the civilian population. These right-wing paramilitary groups control a large majority of the illegal drug trade of cocaine and other substances. The Colombian National Centre for Historical Memory has estimated that between 1981 and 2012 paramilitary groups have caused 38.4% of the civilian deaths, while the Guerillas are responsible for 16.8%, 10.1% by the Colombian Security Forces and 27.7% by non-identified armed groups, although the chief prosecutor of the ICC would contradict these numbers.
The relationship between Colombia and the United States evolved from a mutual cordiality during the 19th and early 20th centuries to a recent partnership that links the governments of both nations around several key issues; this includes fighting communism, the War on Drugs, and the threat of terrorism due to the September 11 attacks in 2001. During the last fifty years, different American governments and their representatives have become involved in Colombian affairs through the implementation of policies concerned with the issues already stated. Some critics of current US policies in Colombia, such as Law Professor John Barry, claim that US influences have catalyzed internal conflicts and substantially expanded the scope and nature of human rights abuses in Colombia. Supporters, such as Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman, defend the idea that the United States has promoted respect for human rights and the rule of law in Colombia; in addition, adding to the fight against drugs and terrorism.
National Front was a period in the history of Colombia in which the two main political parties, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, agreed to rotate power, intercalating for a period of four presidential terms. The National Front Presidents were Alberto Lleras Camargo (Liberal), Guillermo León Valencia (Conservative), Carlos Lleras Restrepo (Liberal), and Misael Pastrana Borrero (Conservative).
Carlos Eugenio Restrepo Restrepo was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and statesman, who was elected President of Colombia in 1910. During his administration he worked towards making political reconciliation among the Conservative and Liberals. He appointed members of the Liberal Party to his Cabinet, and to the dismay of some of his own party, adopted a neutral stand on all issues. He later served as Minister of Government and Ambassador to the Vatican City State.
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.
Joint Task Force OMEGA is a joint task force involving the Military of Colombia in support of Plan Patriota assembled with the main purpose of capturing the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Operation JM was a military operation by the Military of Colombia Joint Task Force OMEGA intended to capture or kill the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla (FARC), as part of the Plan Patriota. The operations began in April 2004 and after some 30 operations concluded without the main objective being accomplished in December 2006. However, the Colombian military achieved numerous military advances in a region that had been dominated by the guerrillas.
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.
Gilberto Echeverri Mejía was a Colombian electrical engineer, businessman and politician who on 21 April 2002 was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC-EP along with the then-Governor of Antioquia Guillermo Gaviria Correa among others while participating in a peace walk and held hostage until 5 May 2003 when he was murdered by the guerrillas during a botched rescue operation by government forces deep in the Colombian northwestern jungle, bordering between Antioquia and Chocó. A Liberal party politician, he had previously served as Ambassador of Colombia to Ecuador from 1975 to 1977 in the Administration of President Alfonso López Michelsen, Minister of Economic Development from 1978 to 1980 in the Administration of President Julio César Turbay Ayala, Minister of National Defence from 1997 to 1998 in the Administration of President Ernesto Samper Pizano, and was working as peace advisor to Governor Gaviria before he was kidnapped.
Luís Guillermo Peréz is a Colombian human rights lawyer who is currently serving as the General Secretary for the Americas for the International Federation for Human Rights. He has represented the Americas at the FIDH since 2004 and in May 2013 announced his candidacy to stand for the FIDH's presidency.
References
- ↑ :: Sne ::
- ↑ "The Decisive Phase of Colombia's War on Narco-Terrorism", Dario E. Teicher, Counterproliferation Papers, No. 28 USAF Counterproliferation Center, January 2005.
- ↑ Viotá, 2003: Mere Coincidences? Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective April 15, 2008
