The Revolutionary Armed Forces Of Colombia

In the last decades, narco trafficking and organized crime had emerged as the main security threats in Latin America. Deviant globalization increase their power by establishing connections with similar organizations in other parts of the world, like cocaine distribution networks, for example. This perceived danger increases the pressure on the governments for effective solutions, and some of them consider that these problems had overwhelmed the capabilities of the local police. Consequently, the intervention of military forces would be necessary to secure the stability of the countries. However, the use of force as the only solution is the outcome of a misunderstanding of the root causes that generates them. This paper presents the research for a general pattern in the region that is helpful to understand how the civil society perceives the failures of governance and how the networks of illegal activities exploit this perception.

The FARC is Colombia’s largest terror group. The FARC was established in 1964. The FARC began with farmers and agricultural workers who abandoned their positions to fight inequalities in Colombia. The FARC revolves around a Marxist-Leninist ideology. The FARCs early establishment suffered losses within its organization due to consistent military raids conducted by the Columbian Forces in order to disrupt or destroy the group. As the fight continued, those losses changed the leadership constantly through the years. The FARC has adapted and overcame many obstacles as the Colombian Government continues its fight against the terror group. As the fight continued through the years, the FARCs ability to change their tactics and weapons advanced. With more powerful weapons through the years and their ability to become more organized, the FARCs ability to fight back became more powerful.

In 1932, the Central American Socialist Party was created in El salvador. The peasants revolted against this with riots. Within a few weeks, the revolt died after the military killed around 30,000 civilians, most people killed were indigenous. Some people were killed just for looking as if they supported the uprising. This massacre is know as the Matanza.

2. At the same time, however, the consequences of “cooperation” with the rebels is execution by paramilitary groups or even by the Columbian government.” “Some more coca farmers, fearful of the government, willingly form alliances with rebels who offer to protect their farms for a fee (Javdani, par. 6). The

An author, Francisco E. Gonzalez, discussed one incident that took place, “A grenade attack on September 15, 2008, left eight dead and more than one hundred injured on the central square in Morelia (the capital of the state of Michoacán), on a night Mexicans were celebrating the 198th anniversary of their country’s independence.” (Gonzalez 72). This incident shows that safety is never guaranteed with the cartel’s violent and erratic behavior.

Colombia is located in the north of South America. Both oceans surround it; to the west is the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast. Colombia also has Panama to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast and Ecuador and Peru to the south. The capital is Bogota, and it also has important cities such as Cali, Medellin and Barranquilla. The population is around 47 million people in which 7 millions are in Bogota. The main language is Spanish with many ethnic languages across the country. Colombia is independent from Spain since July 20th of 1980

This paper will analyze whether Pablo Escobar was a Modern day Robin Hood or a Murderous Tyrant. Escobar to this day is still a highly controversial character and is perceived differently throughout Columbia. The topic was undertaken by thorough research and analyzing documents and interviews. Due to lack of Primary Documents, the majority of my research was from secondary sources. Pablo Escobar grew up in a time period which was referred to simply as the Violencia, Pablo was known as a loving father and the people saw him as a local boy who had done well for himself and gave back millions to the community. Escobar was not always seen as a charitable figure he was targeted by extreme left winged guerrillas. Intimidation and violence were the

The United States Department of State classifies 58 different organizations as foreign terrorist organizations (US DOS). Of those 58 FTOs only one is located in South America, and none are located in Mexico. Despite the lack of official FTOs in Mexico, non-state violence is at an all-time high and the country is more dangerous than ever. This is because of the presence and prevalence of drug cartels throughout the country. These drug cartels employ violent tactics as part of their drug trafficking network. But these cartels are more than just criminal organizations. The scope of the violence, the fear they instill in the population, and the influence they have on policy shows that these organizations should be considered as more than petty criminals trying to make money. While economic gain remains one of the main goals of these groups, there is much that falls under the umbrella of terrorism.

The Patriotic Union had a triumphant start and won several elections in 1986. Despite initial success, the party quickly dissolved when right-wing conservative forces and competing drug cartels killed several party leaders. This sparked a new wave of violence across Colombia’s political landscape as many of the Patriotic Union leaders and their political opposition were murdered. By the end of 1997, the United States of America had declared that the FARC and similar guerilla forces were terrorist groups, inciting a new dynamic of international tension. By 1999, the FARC had kidnapped an estimated 3,000 people.

The Conservatives, also known as Los Conservadores was a historical, political party located in Panama. During the war, both parties were given weapons from other countries, for example: Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Conservatives had modern weapons while the liberals had rusty old weapons. Although they had differences of weapons and politics, the war also stopped a large part of the Colombian Government’s income. One major cause of this was because since the war was going on; they fought on coffee plantations in Colombia and damaged a lot of it. Coffee plantations have always brought Colombia an great amount of income and they damaged a lot of it. Since so much damage was done all around Colombia what little money that the

1.1. The United States (US) must continue to expand collaboration efforts across the Americas to support democratic consolidation, deter drug trafficking, counter insurgency and counter organized crime (NSS, 2015). As the current political crisis between the Inspector General and the Bogota Mayor unwinds, it is highly likely that all of these efforts will come into play to keep Colombia on a path toward peace and stability. As such, we must support the resolution of longstanding regional conflicts, particularly Columbia’s peace discussions with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC (NSS, 2015). The FARC has been many things over the years and has evolved into a drug trafficking insurgency. Although the FARC is far from Colombia’s domestic only problem, their assimilation into society or elimination all together will allow the country to continue to strengthen as a democracy. The US is obligated to conduct Stability and Counterinsurgency Operations and conduct limited stability operations when required, working with interagency, coalition, and host-nation forces in a whole of government approach to assist Colombia in the current situation (NSS, 2015). Such efforts emphasize unique elements of American DoS and DoD forces: civil- military affairs teams, building partner capacity, information support teams, and cultural outreach programs.

In 2013, I was part of Operation Beyond the Horizon (BTH). This is a civil-military mission, which included humanitarian and civic support. In addition, it provides medical, dental, and engineering assistance by Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves. This is when I first knew about the country of El Salvador and the tragedy it had suffered. This concrete experience has given me the opportunity and real world experience to first hand see what insurgency can do to a Country. Even twenty years later, going in to rebuild schools, provide medical outposts, and repair infrastructures, it is evident that insurgency and its effects are still seen today. What follows is the brief history of insurgency in the Country of El Salvador.

Colombia is a Latin American country located in South America that has been ravaged by violence, starvation, and large-scale inequality between higher and lower classes. The chaos in Colombia has been between rebel forces and the government and has lasted for over fifty years. These rebel forces have fought to achieve their Liberalist lead goals of overthrowing the current democratic government of Colombia and replacing it with a communist government. La Violencia was the main contributor to the conflict between the resistance fighters of Colombia and the Colombian government that has brought on violence and terror from the violent actions between the Liberal and Conservative parties in the 1950’s. , which has directly brought on the violence and terror from the guerrilla groups.

Throughout Colombia’s history there has been two very violent groups of people who do not like each other. This caused the War of Thousand Days and The Violence,

Violence seems to be a nationwide phenomenon. Almost all aspects of the Colombian population experience some degree of violence. Almost everybody is a potential victim; violence does not prefer a particular socioeconomic class, profession, race, or