Terrorist Group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Case Study Example

Terrorist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Introduction Terrorism is perhaps the greatest threat that is facing modern society both at a local, national, and international level as noted by Combs and Slann (2009). The negative implication of terrorism in society is the fear it creates, which incapacitates people to invest thus affecting social and economic progress. Terrorism does more damage on economic performance than it does property and loss of life (Jackson, et al., 2011). For instance, United States of America lost more economically compared to the physical damage it suffered during the 2001, September 11 terrorist attack (Combs & Slann, 2009). Jackson, et al. (2011) describes terrorism as criminal acts that are aimed at provoking fear in the general public by persons or groups that seek to unjustifiably advance their political agendas, philosophical and religious ideologies. The 21st century has witnessed an increase in the number of terrorist organizations and terrorist attacks resulting in increasing global fear, loss of millions of property and loss of millions of lives as highlighted by Combs and Slann, (2009). A notable terrorist organization is Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia popularly known as FARC and it is the aim of this report to analyze the history of the group, their ideologies, goals and current status and the types of terrorism the group is engaged in. History of FARC Among the listed foreign terrorist organizations by the United States and European Union, FARC is a terrorist organization that operates in Columbia (NCTC, 2013). The terrorist group was established in 1964 by farmer self-defense groups and communist militants (Jackson, et al., 2011). Established in a time of extreme social class chaos in Columbia and after decades of never-ending violence as a result of unfair allocation of wealth and sharing of land in rural Columbia, FARC was first created as guerilla fighting force that was against the decision by the Liberals, Conservative parties and the army to share power and their interest to assist large landowners to utilize and invest land belonging to peasants (Hanson, 2009). The terrorist group grew in size and power by 1970s as more pressure was exerted on the land owners and government by the peasants to equitably share the available land and other resources as noted by Richani (2002). Before long, FARC was not only composed of communist military and peasants but also left wing intellectuals, radical Catholics and students (ibid). In the 1980s, the government went into negotiations with FARC in a bid to change it into a political party. As the negotiations went on, paramilitary groups in the right wing grew to safeguard the interests of large land owners and coca business (Hanson, 2009). Subsequent failures to strike a peace deal between the government and FARC resulted in violence in the 90s between the paramilitary, FARC and the army. FARC has been able to operate up to modern Columbia using a comprehensive illegal drug trade involving cultivating, harvesting and manufacturing cocaine that is estimated to generate more than half a billion US dollars each year as discussed by NCTC (2013). In addition, the terrorist group has managed to benefit from numerous extortion schemes, kidnappings and protection fees it charges people in rural Columbia to offer them security from attack (NCTC, 2013). According to the New York Times (2013), other than funding itself, report indicates that the terrorist group has obtained external financing and backing from Cuba and more recently, President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez have been reported to form an alliance with the group in a bid to undermine the government of Columbia. Presently, FARC has more than ten thousand fighters, who help the terrorist group to dominate in close to a third of the country, more so, the plains and jungles in southern and eastern parts of Columbia (The New York Times, 2013). According to Hanson (2009), in certain instances, FARC cooperate with National Liberation Army also known as ELN (a rebel group) to fight the paramilitary. Ideologies of FARC The main ideology that FARC is based on is Marxist ideology, which is demonstrated by their goal to represent the rural poor and fighting for equitable land and wealth distribution. The group has claimed itself as a Marxist-Lennist group that is fully dedicated in some form to fight for equal reallocation of resources among all the people of Columbia (Hanson, 2009). Although this ideology may have driven the terrorist group earlier on, it is no longer the case as the group is involved in activities such as kidnappings, cases of extortions, bombings and assassinations that reveal FARC more as a criminal organization than a political-oriented organization (Richani, 2002). It has been suggested that majority of it supporters join the group to earn a living and find employment than to advance the group’s political ideologies as argued by Hanson (2009). Goals of FARC The main goals of FARC are to protect the rural poor in Columbia from neo-imperialism and economic despoliation by the wealthy and the government (The New York Times, 2013). In addition, opposition to the political interference in Columbia’s affairs by the United States, exploitation and domination of natural resources by foreign international corporations and tyrannical violence by the government of Columbia against its people (Richani, 2002). Current status of FARC FARC’s involvement in criminal activities such as kidnappings and assassinations, engagement in cocaine trade, use of child soldiers and the indiscriminate killing of civilians have seen the international community mobilize support and help the government of Columbia to fight off the group (NCTC, 2013). There are conflicting reports about how strong FARC force is. The group stated that it had a capacity of 18,000 members in 2007, which aligned to a calculation done by Columbian military in 2010(The New York Times, 2013). However, Colombian President, Juan Mauel Santos in the year 2011 insisted that the group had less than eight thousand members (The New York Times, 2013). FARC has witnessed huge setbacks since 2002, following the coming to power of Uribe, who spearheaded aggressive security initiative to oust FARC, which received financing from US (The New York Times, 2013). Perhaps the greatest loss experienced by FARC in recent times is the killing of its leaders in 2007. As reported by The New York Times, (2013), Raul Reyes, the group’s chief spokesman was killed in 2008 in a cross-border raid in Ecuador and Alfonso Cano the group’s top commander and Victor Rojas the group’s senior military commander met the same fate in 2011 and 2010 respectively. There have been high numbers of desertions as fighters become cynical of the criminal activities and illegal trade that FARC is engaged in (Hanson, 2009). In the year 2012, FARC resolved to make a pledge not to get involved in kidnappings, which was followed by the group releasing ten hostages it had held for more than 14 years (The New York Times, 2013). Presently, the government of Colombia has drafted new phase of peace negotiations with FARC in a bid to end the conflict and stabilize the country although the government has insisted that there will not be a ceasefire during the peace negotiations (The New York Times, 2013). Type(s) of terrorism FARC is engaged in FARC predominantly engages in domestic terrorism where it kidnaps local officials, foreign tourists, rich land owners and prominent officials from abroad and seeks ransom for their release (Hanson, 2009). They have also been involved in killings of locals and foreigners in the country (NCTC, 2013). Most notable domestic terrorism FARC has been involved in includes the killings of 3 US missionaries operating in Columbia in 1999, the kidnapping and murder of former government minister in 2001, kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt and Colombian senator, hijacking of a local flight in 2002, and kidnapping of more than 60 civilians in 2005 as highlighted by Hanson (2009). As noted by The New York Times (2013), support for FARC among the locals continue to decrease given the human rights violations that the group continues to perpetrate against the people it claims to protect such as use of forced child soldiers, sexual abuse against women, extrajudicial killings, use of bombs, forced abortions and advancing violence against the natives in Columbia. Conclusion Terrorism continues to threaten world peace as groups and people use violent acts to spread fear among the general public in a bid to unjustifiably advance their political and religious ideologies and philosophies. Terrorism affects the social, economic, and political aspects of society resulting in social and economic regression. There are a growing number of terrorist groups and cells and FARC, an acronym for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is a terrorist group that operates mainly in Columbia. Using self-financing derived from cocaine trade and ransoms from the numerous kidnappings it undertakes, FARC has been able to survive since 1964. Although the group had the support of the locals in the past, this support has waned significantly as the group has shifted its goals from ideological ones to criminal. FARC have received external assistance from the government of Venezuela and from Cuba in a bid to undermine the Colombian government. However, the government of Colombia is gaining grounds in terms of taking over parts of the country under FARC by accepting to negotiate for peace and end the long conflict. The pledge by FARC not to engage in kidnappings and eventual release of ten hostages in the year 2012 is a sign that the group may be ready to negotiate. Signing a peace deal will be the first step in not only stopping the war but also bringing to a stop the continuing human rights violations and the growing illegal trade in Colombia, which is run by FARC. References Combs, C.C. & Slann, M. (2009). Encyclopedia of terrorism. New York: Infobase Publishing. Hanson, S. (2009). FARC, ELN: Colombia's Left-Wing Guerrillas. Council on Foreign Relations, Accessed on 17th Feb 2013 from http://www.cfr.org/colombia/farc-eln-colombias-left-wing-guerrillas/p9272 Jackson, R., Smyth, M.B., Gunning, J., & Jarvis, L. (2011). Terrorism: A Critical Introduction. Sidney: Palgrave Macmillan. Nazih Richani (2002). Systems of Violence: the political economy of war and peace in Colombia. London: SUNY Press. NCTC. (2013). Counterterrorism 2013 Calendar: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). NATIONAL Counterterrorism Center, Accessed on 17th Feb 2013 from http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/farc.html The New York Times. (2013). Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The New York Times, 16th Feb. Read More