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Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia———313

Drugs are only one source of income for the group. it controls, thus it is informed of government
The FARC is also heavily involved in kidnapping movements.
for profit, a tactic begun by the National Liberation By 1997, faced with the growing strength of the
Army–Colombia (ELN) in the mid-1970s, but one that FARC and the increase in kidnappings, extortions, and
the FARC uses extensively. Targets are often wealthy murder, a peace movement was growing in Colombia.
businessmen or government officials, although almost In 1998, Andreas Pastrana was elected president on
anyone is potentially at risk. Western executives from the promise to begin peace talks with the guerrillas.
international corporations operating in Colombia often Pastrana withdrew government forces from FARC-
fetch the highest ransoms, sometimes millions of dol- controlled southern Colombia, in an effort to create a
lars. The FARC is also heavily involved in extortion— stable conditions for peace negotiations. This with-
requiring an annual fee or “tax” from businesses drawal infuriated the armed forces; the FARC took
operating in areas under its control. advantage of the new demilitarized zone to launch new
These varied sources of income, particularly the attacks, thus placing the peace negotiations in jeopardy
huge drug profits, enabled the FARC to expand almost from their start. In 2001, the U.S. government
greatly during the 1980s and 1990s, transforming a authorized a $1.3 billion military aid package to the
force that in the early 1980s numbered a few thousand Colombian armed forces. This aid was designated to
into one estimated at 18,000 today. (The FARC combat drug trafficking within Colombia; the FARC
recently announced a recruitment drive, hoping to add saw the aid package as an attempt to move against it,
12,000 members.) The FARC’s wealth, abetted by the and peace negotiations began to break down entirely.
collapse of communism, has made it one of the best- In February 2002, Pastrana authorized the military
armed guerrilla groups in the world; its communica- to move against the rebels. In March 2002, the admin-
tions and surveillance equipment is significantly more istration of U.S. president George W. Bush asked
sophisticated than that of the Colombian Army, and Congress to direct more military aid to Colombia, this
it employs heavy artillery and antiaircraft missiles time specifically to be used to combat the FARC and
against military helicopters. During the 1990s, the several other guerrilla groups in Colombia. Even with
FARC vastly expanded its territory and now controls such aid, however, military analysts believe that the
about 40 percent of the country, an area about the size Colombian Army has little hope of defeating the FARC
of Switzerland. entirely; the goal is to make the FARC realize that it
cannot achieve a military victory, and therefore force
serious negotiations. In August 2002, the FARC
DRUG TRADE TRUMPS IDEOLOGY
attempted to bomb the presidential palace during the
As the FARC has become more deeply involved in inauguration of President Alvaro Uribe Velez, missing
the drug trade, the ideological fervor that attracted the palace but killing at least 14 civilians. If the FARC
earlier recruits has diminished, and popular support continues to expand, Colombia seems certain to con-
for the organization is very small. The desperate tinue to be one of the most dangerous places on earth
poverty of much of Colombia continues to draw new and a source of regional instability for decades to come.
members to the FARC, however. The FARC’s lead-
See also NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY–COLOMBIA; UNITED
ership appears to have abandoned the idea of a
SELF-DEFENSE FORCES OF COLOMBIA.
Marxist-style revolution, and its political demands
now center mainly around land reform. However, Further Reading
within the FARC itself, rigid discipline and a degree
of gender equity almost unique in Colombian society Kline, Harvey F. Democracy Under Assault. New York:
Westview, 1995.
are maintained: almost 30 percent of FARC guerril-
Kline, Harvey F. State Building and Conflict Resolution in
las are women, and many have moved into midlevel
Colombia, 1986–94. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama
command positions. FARC is organized into well-
Press, 1999.
defended armed camps in the remote jungle and is
Pearce, Jenny. Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth. New York:
able to move troops quickly on FARC-maintained Monthly Review, 1990.
trails (government forces are reluctant to use the Safford, Frank, and Marco Palacios. Colombia: Fragmented
trails, fearing ambush); the group keeps liaisons Land, Divided Society. New York: Oxford University
in every large town and most villages in the areas Press, 2002.