Colombian conflict

Colombian Conflict
Part of the Cold War (1964–1991), the War on Drugs (1971–present) and the War on Terror (2001–present)

Top left: FARC guerrillas during the Caguán dialogues.
Top right: Displaced people.
Center left: National Police during the Palace of Justice siege.
Center right: Death of Pablo Escobar.
Bottom left: Peace talks during the government of Juan Manuel Santos.
Bottom right: Fredy Iturre Klínger (center) cries after seeing his half-brother killed in the Battle of Gutiérrez, 1999.
DateMay 27, 1964 – present
(62 years, 5 months, 1 week and 3 days)
Location
Colombia with spillovers into Venezuela and Ecuador
Status

Ongoing

Territorial
changes		 El Caguán DMZ (1999–2002)
Belligerents

Colombia Colombia

Supported by:
 Peru
 Panama
 Mexico
 Brazil
 Ecuador
 United States
 Spain
 United Kingdom

Colombian drug cartels and paramilitaries

Supported by:
Contras (1979–90)

Mexican drug cartels and paramilitaries

Colombian rebel guerrilla groups

Supported by:
 Venezuela
 Cuba
 Belarus (from 2008)
 Nicaragua (alleged)
Libya (until 2011)
 Soviet Union
(until 1989)
Albania (financial support; 1960s–1970s)
Cartel of the Suns
FBL
Shining Path (factions)
ETA (1964–2018)
PIRA (1969–98)
Commanders and leaders

Colombia Gustavo Petro
(2022–present)

Former
 AUC:
Fidel Castaño †
Carlos Castaño †
Vicente Castaño
Rodrigo Tovar Pupo
Salvatore Mancuso
Diego Murillo
AGC:
Daniel Rendón Herrera
Medellín cartel:
Pablo Escobar †
José Rodríguez †

FARC:
Timoleón Jiménez
Iván Márquez
Joaquín Gómez
Mauricio Jaramillo
Alfonso Cano †

ELN:
Antonio García
Francisco Galán
Strength
National Police: 175,250
Army: 237,567
Navy: 33,913
Air Force: 14,033		 Paramilitary successor groups, including the Black Eagles: 3,749–13,000 FARC: 13,980 (2016)
ELN: 1,380–3,000 (2013)
EPL: 400 (2017)
FARC dissidents: 2,500 (2021)
Casualties and losses
Colombia Army and Police:
4,908 killed since 2004
20,001 injured since 2004		 AUC:
2,200 killed
35,000 demobilized
BACRIM:
222 killed
18,506 captured
Medellín Cartel:
2,100 killed		 FARC,
ELN and other irregular military groups:
11,484 killed since 2004
26,648 demobilized since 2002
34,065 captured since 2004
Civilians killed: 177,307
People abducted: 27,023
Total people displaced: 4,744,046–5,712,506
Number of refugees: 340,000
Total dead: 450,000

The Colombian conflict began on May 27, 1964 between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups and crime groups, and far-left guerrilla groups, fighting each other to increase their power in Colombian territory.

References

  1. ↑ Moreno, Luis Alberto (3 May 2002). "Aiding Colombia's War on Terrorism". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "Bush, Uribe Applaud Strength of U.S.-Colombia Partnership". US Department of State. November 22, 2004. Archived from the original on August 24, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2006.
  3. ↑ Long, Robert (24 May 2009). "Colombia's War on Terror". Harvard Political Review.
  4. ↑ "Latin America: Terrorism Issues" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2011-05-18.[permanent dead link]
  5. ↑ "Timeline: Colombia's war with the FARC". November 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Bargent, James. "The FARC 1964–2002: From Ragged Rebellion to Military Machine". Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Panama busts drug ring linked to Colombia's FARC, Mexican cartel". Reuters. December 19, 2014. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ Brooke, James (March 7, 1991). "Operation Traíra". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "España apoyará la lucha de Colombia contra las Farc". caracol.com.co. 19 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "British intelligence members sent to Colombia after IRA suspects arrested". The Irish News. September 17, 2016. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Caen los últimos herederos de los rastrojos". semana.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN)". InSight Crime. October 11, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Ex-FARC Mafia". InSight Crime. June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Ex-FARC Mafia: The New Player in Colombian Organized Crime". InSight Crime. March 9, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Alianzas mantienen a "los Urabeños" en regiones". elcolombiano.com. May 6, 2014. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  16. 1 2 "El ministro de Defensa aseguró que con este logro se desarticula toda la organización". infobae.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Reuters: The Business of Information". October 18, 1996. Archived from the original on October 18, 1996.
  18. ↑ "La disidencia de las FARC llega ya a los 700 combatientes". November 27, 2017. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ "EPL / Los Pelusos – Profile". March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Colombia Arrest of EPL Middleman Shows Booming Venezuela Arms Market". April 28, 2017. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  21. 1 2 "Las 10 razones por las que el EPL es un problema que se le creció al Gobierno". La Silla Vacía. lasillavacia.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  22. 1 2 Hudson, Rex A. (April 1, 2005). Country Profile: Venezuela. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 28.
  23. ↑ "Cuba's Renewed Support for Violence in Latin America" (PDF). United States Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. December 14, 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  24. 1 2 Franks, Jeff; Murphy, Helen (September 6, 2020). "Colombia's FARC rebels to ask government for ceasefire". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Оружейный бизнес Беларуси – легальный и "теневой"". Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  26. ↑ "El Pais: Венесуэла с помощью Лукашенко и его приближенных поставляла белорусское оружие колумбийским боевикам". May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Allegations of Venezuela, Nicaragua Complicity in FARC Money Laundering Resurface". September 18, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Female Colombian snipers 'fighting to defend Col Gaddafi in Libya'". The Telegraph. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Revealed: Colonel Gaddafi's school for scoundrels". March 15, 2011.
  30. ↑ Molla, Ylli (2016). Guerilas made in Albania historia e Arafatit. Botart. ISBN 978-9928-219-00-8.
  31. ↑ Padgett, Tim (September 3, 2008). "Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase". TIME. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Recent Attack on Peru Police Shows Shining Path Still Strong". September 13, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Shining Path". March 27, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Vicente Castaño, muerto". Cambio. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Military Personnel, 2013" (PDF) (in Spanish). mindefensa.gov.co. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  36. ↑ "New armed drug-trafficking groups menace Colombia". BBC News. September 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  37. ↑ Human Rights Watch, "World Report 2011: Colombia Archived 2015-02-06 at the Wayback Machine", World Report 2011, January 2011
  38. ↑ "10,000 demobilized fighters rearm – Colombia news". Colombia Reports. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on September 17, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  39. ↑ "Las Farc tendrían 13.980 miembros". Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Colombia's ELN rebels release oil workers after brief capture -police". Reuters. October 18, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  41. ↑ "At least 14 rebels killed in fighting with Colombian army". Reuters. April 18, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Desmovilización, principal arma contra las guerrillas" (in Spanish). eltiempo.com. September 22, 2013. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  43. 1 2 3 4 "Informe ¡Basta Ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad: Estadísticas del conflicto armado en Colombia". Voxpopuli - ¡Basta ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  44. ↑ Silva, Gustavo. "The price of Colombia's drug war". Colombia Reports. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  45. ↑ "COLOMBIA FACTSHEET February 2017" (PDF). UNHCR. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Colombia Truth Commission Gives Scathing Report on Civil War". Voice of America. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  47. ↑ "Georgetown Welcomes Colombia's Ex-Pres. Uribe". Georgetown University. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  48. ↑