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Mono Joloy, high-ranking FARC member |
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Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia, FARC) is Latin America’s oldest, largest, most capable, and best-equipped insurgency of Marxist origin—although it nominally fights in support of Marxist goals today. The FARC primarily operates in Colombia, with some activities—extortion, kidnapping, weapons sourcing, and logistics—in neighboring countries.
FARC tactics include bombings, murder, mortar attacks, kidnapping, extortion, and hijacking, as well as guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian political, military, and economic targets. The FARC has well-documented ties to the full range of narcotics trafficking activities, including taxation, cultivation, and distribution. The group considers US persons to be legitimate military targets due to US support for the Colombian Government. The FARC continues to hold three US contractors hostage who were captured in February 2003 when their plane crashed in a FARC stronghold.
A Colombian military offensive targeting FARC fighters in their former safehaven in southern Colombia has experienced some success, with several midlevel leaders killed or captured.
The number of attacks by FARC has been declining in recent years. In June 2007, however, the FARC assassinated 11 Colombian legislators who had been held hostage by the FARC for five years. In August, FARC rejected a Colombian Government proposal for peace talks and international appeals to release FARC hostages.
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