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Combatants { July 31 2001 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/rebelheld/986433http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/rebelheld/986433
July 31, 2001, 4:55PM
SPECIAL REPORT: REBEL HELD
The Combatants
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
Most historians agree that the modern-day civil war in Colombia began in 1964 when thousands of troops attacked a rebel area on the slopes of the Andes known as Marquetalia. There, Manuel Marulanda had established an encampment for a small group that he had founded as a self-defense force 15 years earlier. Most of Marulanda's fighters escaped the army's assault, and two years later the rebel group officially baptized itself the FARC. The main forces in Colombia's civil war:
THE FARC
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
Marxist rebel group has 17,000 uniformed soldiers and 5,000 part-time urban militia members. The FARC funds its war by delving into the illegal drug trade, kidnapping civilians for ransom and taxing businesses in areas it controls.
THE ELN (National Liberation Army)
Marxist guerrilla group has about 3,000 fighters. Inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN launched its first attacks in 1965. The group focuses on economic sabotage, such as blowing up power installations and oil pipelines, as well as kidnappings for ransom. It earns money from the drug trade.
PARAMILITARY GROUPS
Illegal right-wing militias were established in the early 1980s by ranchers and drug gangs for protection against the guerrillas. Paramilitary fighters now number about 8,100 and belong to the umbrella organization the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. Their tactics include massacring civilians suspected of supporting the rebels. Paramilitaries have pushed the guerrillas out of several longtime strongholds. They profit from the narcotics trade.
COLOMBIAN ARMED FORCES
The government has 146,000 troops, but many of them are unavailable for combat missions. Thousands of soldiers are assigned to desk jobs or guard duty at oil installations and power stations. In the late 1990s, the army suffered several embarrassing defeats. But the military has performed better in the past few years with the help of millions of dollars in U.S. aid. At times, army officers have been accused of covertly aiding right-wing paramilitary groups. Officials now insist that all army ties to the illegal militias have been severed.
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