View source for Colombian conflict

{{short description|Low-intensity asymmetric war in Colombia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Colombian Conflict
| partof            = the [[Cold War]] (1964–1991), the [[War on drugs|War on Drugs]] (1971–present) and the [[War on terror|War on Terror]] (2001–present)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/03/opinion/aiding-colombia-s-war-on-terrorism.html|title=Aiding Colombia's War on Terrorism|last1=Moreno|first1=Luis Alberto|date=3 May 2002|website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="state">{{cite web|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2004/Nov/23-231491.html|title=Bush, Uribe Applaud Strength of U.S.-Colombia Partnership|date=November 22, 2004|publisher=US Department of State|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824153938/http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2004/Nov/23-231491.html|archive-date=August 24, 2006|url-status=dead|access-date=April 26, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://harvardpolitics.com/colombias-war-on-terror/|title=Colombia's War on Terror|last1=Long|first1=Robert|date=24 May 2009|website=Harvard Political Review}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RS21049.pdf|title=Latin America: Terrorism Issues|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|date=2011-02-23|accessdate=2011-05-18}}</ref>
| image             = Collage conflicto interno armado en Colombia.jpg
| image_size        = 350px
| caption           = '''Top left''': FARC guerrillas during the Caguán dialogues.<br />'''Top right''': Displaced people.<br />
'''Center left''': National Police during the [[Palace of Justice siege]].<br />'''Center right''': Death of [[Pablo Escobar]].<br />'''Bottom left''': Peace talks during the government of [[Juan Manuel Santos]].<br />'''Bottom right''': Fredy Iturre Klínger (center) cries after seeing his half-brother killed in the [[:es:Batalla de Gutiérrez|Battle of Gutiérrez]], 1999.
| date              = May 27, 1964<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/timeline-colombias-war-farc|title=Timeline: Colombia's war with the FARC|date=November 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/investigations/the-farc-1964-2002-from-ragged-rebellion-to-military-machine|title=The FARC 1964–2002: From Ragged Rebellion to Military Machine|first=James|last=Bargent|access-date=September 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927220044/http://www.insightcrime.org/investigations/the-farc-1964-2002-from-ragged-rebellion-to-military-machine|archive-date=September 27, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> – present<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=05|day1=27|year1=1964}})
| place             = [[Colombia]] with spillovers into [[Venezuela]] and [[Ecuador]]
| territory         = [[El Caguán DMZ]] (1999–2002)
| status            = [[List of ongoing military conflicts|Ongoing]]
* [[Colombian peace process|Colombia–FARC peace deal in 2016]]
* [[Catatumbo campaign|Start of Catatumbo campaign in 2018]]
| combatant1        = {{flagicon|Colombia}} '''[[Government of Colombia|Colombia]]''' <br />
'''Supported by:'''<br />{{flag|Peru}}<br />{{flag|Panama}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Panama busts drug ring linked to Colombia's FARC, Mexican cartel|date=December 19, 2014|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-panama-drugs-idUSKBN0JY00M20141220|publisher=Reuters|access-date=December 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225085324/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-panama-drugs-idUSKBN0JY00M20141220|archive-date=December 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><br />{{flag|Mexico}}<br />{{flag|Brazil}}<ref>{{cite news|title= Operation Traíra|work= The New York Times|date= March 7, 1991|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/07/world/brazilian-troops-kill-3-colombian-guerrillas.html|last1= Brooke|first1= James}}</ref><br />{{flag|Ecuador}}<br />{{flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Spain}}<ref>{{cite web|title= España apoyará la lucha de Colombia contra las Farc|date= April 19, 2012|url= http://caracol.com.co/radio/2012/04/19/internacional/1334840880_672968.html|publisher= caracol.com.co|access-date= June 28, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171012035646/http://caracol.com.co/radio/2012/04/19/internacional/1334840880_672968.html|archive-date= October 12, 2017|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref><br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref>{{cite web|title=British intelligence members sent to Colombia after IRA suspects arrested|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/09/17/news/british-intelligence-members-sent-to-columbia-after-ira-suspects-arrested-698427/|website=The Irish News|access-date=March 2, 2017|date=September 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320151354/http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/09/17/news/british-intelligence-members-sent-to-columbia-after-ira-suspects-arrested-698427/|archive-date=March 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
| combatant2        = '''[[Drug cartel#Colombia|Colombian drug cartels]] and [[Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia|paramilitaries]]'''
* [[Oficina de Envigado|La Oficina Cartel]]<br />(1993–)
* {{flagicon image|Flag of The AGC.png}} [[Clan del Golfo]] (2001–)
*  [[Los Rastrojos]] (2004–)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/ultimos-rastrojos-capurados/533977 |title= Caen los últimos herederos de los rastrojos |publisher= semana.com |access-date= February 16, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170727232715/http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/ultimos-rastrojos-capurados/533977 |archive-date= July 27, 2017 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
*{{ill|Los Pachenca|es|Los Pachenca  (banda criminal)}} (2006–)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/pachenca/|title=Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN)|date=October 11, 2024|access-date=March 2, 2025|work=InSight Crime}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Aguilas negras capital.png}} [[Black Eagles]] (2006–2011)
* [[FARC dissidents|Ex-FARC Mafia]] (Since 2016 or 2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/ex-farc-mafia/|title=Ex-FARC Mafia|date=June 1, 2023|access-date=June 18, 2023|work=InSight Crime}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/ex-farc-mafia-new-player-colombian-organized-crime/|title=Ex-FARC Mafia: The New Player in Colombian Organized Crime|work=InSight Crime|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]] (1997–08)
* [[Alianza Americana Anticomunista|AAA]] (1978–99)
* [[CONVIVIR]] (1994–07)
* [[Peasant Self-Defenders of Córdoba and Urabá|ACCU]] (1964–2009)
* {{ill|Los Paisas|es|Los Paisas (banda criminal)}} (2008–14)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/historico/alianzas_mantienen_a_los_urabenos_en_regiones-AXEC_293377 |title=Alianzas mantienen a "los Urabeños" en regiones |date=May 6, 2014 |publisher=elcolombiano.com |access-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918085824/http://www.elcolombiano.com/historico/alianzas_mantienen_a_los_urabenos_en_regiones-AXEC_293377 |archive-date=September 18, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Libertadores del Vichada]]<br />(2010–17)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2017/09/25/le-decia-tigre-y-manejaba-las-rutas-narco-en-los-llanos-orientales-de-colombia-cayo-por-sus-citas-con-una-modelo/|title= El ministro de Defensa aseguró que con este logro se desarticula toda la organización|publisher= infobae.com|access-date= February 10, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180210174039/https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2017/09/25/le-decia-tigre-y-manejaba-las-rutas-narco-en-los-llanos-orientales-de-colombia-cayo-por-sus-citas-con-una-modelo/|archive-date= February 10, 2018|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Bloque Meta]]<br/>(2010–17)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2017/09/25/le-decia-tigre-y-manejaba-las-rutas-narco-en-los-llanos-orientales-de-colombia-cayo-por-sus-citas-con-una-modelo/|title= El ministro de Defensa aseguró que con este logro se desarticula toda la organización|publisher= infobae.com|access-date= February 10, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180210174039/https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2017/09/25/le-decia-tigre-y-manejaba-las-rutas-narco-en-los-llanos-orientales-de-colombia-cayo-por-sus-citas-con-una-modelo/|archive-date= February 10, 2018|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Pedro Oliverio Guerrero|ERPAC]] (1964–2010)
* [[Cali Cartel]] (1975–95)
* [[Medellín Cartel]] (1972–93)
* [[Norte del Valle Cartel]] (1985–2008)
* [[North Coast Cartel]] (1980–2010)
* [[Muerte a Secuestradores|MAS]] (1981–90)
* [[La Empresa|La Empresa Cartel]] (1990- )
* [[La Guajira Cartel]] (1990- )
'''Supported by:'''<br />[[Contras]] (1979–90)
----
'''[[Mexican drug cartel|Mexican drug cartels and paramilitaries]]'''
* [[Sinaloa Cartel]] (1990–)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/|title=Reuters: The Business of Information|date=October 18, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961018151258/http://www.reuters.com/ |archive-date=October 18, 1996 }}</ref>
* [[Tijuana Cartel]] (1987–)
* {{flagicon image|Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación logo 3.png}} [[Jalisco New Generation Cartel|CJNG]] (2009–)
* {{flagicon image|Cártel del Golfo logo.png}} [[Gulf Cartel]] (1986–)
* [[Juárez Cartel]] (1989–)
* [[Los Zetas]] (1997–)
* [[Beltrán-Leyva Organization|BLO]] (2008–14)
* [[Guadalajara Cartel]] (1978–89)
* [[La Familia Michoacana]] (1980s–2011)
* [[Milenio Cartel]] (1995–2010)
| combatant3        = '''[[Guerrilla movements in Colombia|Colombian rebel guerrilla groups]]'''
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of ELN.svg}} [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] (1964–)
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[FARC dissidents]]<br />(2016–)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-disidencia-farc-llega-700-combatientes-201711271043_noticia.html|title=La disidencia de las FARC llega ya a los 700 combatientes|date=November 27, 2017|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602044650/http://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-disidencia-farc-llega-700-combatientes-201711271043_noticia.html|archive-date=June 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of EPL.svg}} [[Popular Liberation Army|EPL/Los Pelusos]] (1967–)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://colombiareports.com/epl-pelusos/|title=EPL / Los Pelusos – Profile|date=March 26, 2017|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712182543/https://colombiareports.com/epl-pelusos/|archive-date=July 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/colombia-arrest-epl-intermediary-overflowing-venezuela-weapons-market/|title=Colombia Arrest of EPL Middleman Shows Booming Venezuela Arms Market|date=April 28, 2017|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080134/https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/colombia-arrest-epl-intermediary-overflowing-venezuela-weapons-market/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="pelusos"/>
* [[Indigenous Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Pacific|FARIP]] (1987–1996)
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] (1964–2017)
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the ERP.svg}} [[People's Revolutionary Army (Colombia)|ERP]] (1985–2007)
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the CGSB.svg}} [[Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board|CGSB]] (1987–90)
* {{flagicon image|Flag of M-19.svg}} [[19th of April Movement|M-19]] (1974–90)
* {{flagicon image|Hammer and sickle.svg}} [[Peasant Student Workers Movement|MOEC]] (1964–95)
* {{flagicon image|MA Quintin lame.svg}} [[Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame|MAQL]] (1984–91)
* [[Ernesto Rojas Commandos|ERC]] (1964–92)
* {{flagicon image|Bandera del Ejército Revolucionario Guevarista.svg}} [[Guevarista Revolutionary Army|ERG]] (1964–2008)
* {{flagicon image|PRTColombia.svg}} [[Workers Revolutionary Party of Colombia|PRT]] (1964–91)
'''Supported by:'''<br />{{flag|Venezuela}}<ref name=RexHudsonNTC/><br />{{flag|Cuba}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Cuba's Renewed Support for Violence in Latin America |publisher=United States Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs |date=December 14, 1981 |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000902340022-5.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123073640/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000902340022-5.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref><ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news
|last1=Franks
|first1=Jeff
|last2=Murphy
|first2=Helen
|title=Colombia's FARC rebels to ask government for ceasefire
|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-rebels-cuba/colombias-farc-rebels-to-ask-government-for-ceasefire-idUSBRE8851BH20120906
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728195507/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-rebels-cuba/colombias-farc-rebels-to-ask-government-for-ceasefire-idUSBRE8851BH20120906
|archive-date=28 July 2020
|access-date=April 1, 2020
|newspaper=Reuters
|date=September 6, 2020}}</ref><br />{{Flag|Belarus}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://m.delfi.lt/ru/abroad/article.php?id=28177123 |title=Оружейный бизнес Беларуси – легальный и "теневой" |access-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804141813/https://m.delfi.lt/ru/abroad/article.php?id=28177123 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newsru.com/world/13may2008/belorussia.html |title=El Pais: Венесуэла с помощью Лукашенко и его приближенных поставляла белорусское оружие колумбийским боевикам |date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608173909/https://www.newsru.com/world/13may2008/belorussia.html |url-status=live }}</ref> (from 2008)<br />{{flag|Nicaragua}} (alleged)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/allegations-venezuela-nicaragua-complicity-farc-money-laundering-resurface/|title=Allegations of Venezuela, Nicaragua Complicity in FARC Money Laundering Resurface|date=September 18, 2017}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg}} [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]] (until 2011)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8451467/Female-Colombian-snipers-fighting-to-defend-Col-Gaddafi-in-Libya.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8451467/Female-Colombian-snipers-fighting-to-defend-Col-Gaddafi-in-Libya.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Female Colombian snipers 'fighting to defend Col Gaddafi in Libya'|website=The Telegraph|date=April 14, 2011 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2011/03/15/revealed-colonel-gaddafis-world-revolutionary-center-644456/|title=Revealed: Colonel Gaddafi's school for scoundrels|date=March 15, 2011}}</ref><br />{{flag|Soviet Union}}<br />(until 1989)<ref name="reuters.com"/><br/>{{flagdeco|Albania|1946}} [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albania]] (financial support; 1960s–1970s)<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEK1AQAACAAJ| title=Guerilas made in Albania historia e Arafatit| isbn=978-9928-219-00-8| last1=Molla| first1=Ylli| year=2016| publisher=Botart}}</ref><br />[[Cartel of the Suns]]<ref name="Padgett">{{cite news|last=Padgett|first=Tim|title=Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1838145,00.html|access-date=March 28, 2014|newspaper=TIME|date=September 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318023159/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1838145,00.html|archive-date=March 18, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><br />[[Bolivarian Forces of Liberation|FBL]]<ref name=RexHudsonNTC>Hudson, Rex A. (April 1, 2005). Country Profile: Venezuela. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 28.</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Sendero Luminoso.svg}} [[Shining Path]] (factions)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/recent-attack-police-shows-shining-path-still-strong/|title=Recent Attack on Peru Police Shows Shining Path Still Strong|date=September 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/peru-organized-crime-news/shining-path-profile/|title=Shining Path|date=March 27, 2017}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Logo of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna.png}} [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]] (1964–2018)<br />{{flagicon image|Provisional Irish Republican Army Badge.svg}} [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|PIRA]] (1969–98)<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Kurdistan_Workers'_Party.svg}} [[Kurdistan Workers' Party|PKK]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rebelion.org/el-pkk-saluda-a-las-farc-ep-con-motivo-de-su-50o-aniversario/|title=El PKK saluda a las FARC-EP con motivo de su 50º aniversario|date=May 31, 2014}}</ref> 

| commander1 = {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Gustavo Petro]] <br />(2022–present)
{{Collapsible list
| titlestyle=background-color:transparent; text-align:left;
| title= Former
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Guillermo León Valencia]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Carlos Lleras Restrepo]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Misael Pastrana Borrero]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Alfonso López Michelsen]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Julio César Turbay Ayala]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Belisario Betancur]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Virgilio Barco Vargas]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[César Gaviria]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Ernesto Samper]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Andrés Pastrana Arango]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Álvaro Uribe]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Juan Manuel Santos]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Iván Duque Márquez]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Jaime Ramírez (police officer)|Jaime Ramírez]]{{KIA}}
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Waldemar Franklin Quintero]]{{KIA}}
}}
| commander2        = '''AUC''':<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Fidel Castaño]]{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Carlos Castaño Gil|Carlos Castaño]]{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Vicente Castaño]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Vicente Castaño, muerto |url=http://www.cambio.com.co/portadacambio/740/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_CAMBIO-3710032.html |publisher=Cambio |access-date=September 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227104641/http://www.cambio.com.co/portadacambio/740/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_CAMBIO-3710032.html |archive-date=February 27, 2012 }}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Rodrigo Tovar Pupo]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Salvatore Mancuso]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[Diego Murillo Bejarano|Diego Murillo]]<br/>'''AGC''':<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag_of_The_AGC.png}} [[Daniel Rendón Herrera]]<br />'''Medellín cartel''':<br />[[Pablo Escobar]]{{KIA}}<br>[[José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha|José Rodríguez]]{{KIA}}
| commander3        = '''FARC''':<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Timoleón Jiménez]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Iván Márquez]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Joaquín Gómez (guerrilla)|Joaquín Gómez]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Mauricio Jaramillo]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Alfonso Cano]]{{KIA}}
'''ELN:'''<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of ELN.svg}} [[Antonio García (ELN commander)|Antonio García]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of ELN.svg}} Francisco Galán
| strength1         = [[National Police of Colombia|National Police]]: 175,250<ref name="Military Personnel">{{cite web|url=http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/Mindefensa/Documentos/descargas/estudios%20sectoriales/info_estadistica/Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf|title=Military Personnel, 2013|language=es|publisher=mindefensa.gov.co|access-date=March 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413195638/http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/Mindefensa/Documentos/descargas/estudios%20sectoriales/info_estadistica/Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf|archive-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref><br />[[National Army of Colombia|Army]]: 237,567<ref name="Military Personnel"/><br />[[Colombian Navy|Navy]]: 33,913<ref name="Military Personnel"/><br />[[Colombian Air Force|Air Force]]: 14,033<ref name="Military Personnel"/>
| strength2         = Paramilitary successor groups, including the [[Black Eagles]]: 3,749–13,000<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11274221|work=BBC News|title=New armed drug-trafficking groups menace Colombia|date=September 12, 2010|access-date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224153522/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11274221|archive-date=December 24, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="HRW-World-Report-2011">''[[Human Rights Watch]]'', "[https://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/world-report-2011-colombia World Report 2011: Colombia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206190759/http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/world-report-2011-colombia |date=2015-02-06 }}", ''World Report 2011'', January 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/11824-5000-demobilized-found-job-10000-rearmed-report.html|title=10,000 demobilized fighters rearm – Colombia news|publisher=Colombia Reports|date=September 14, 2010|access-date=October 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917102857/http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/11824-5000-demobilized-found-job-10000-rearmed-report.html|archive-date=September 17, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
| strength3         = [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]]: 13,980 (2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/farc-tendrian-13980-miembros-articulo-648915|title=Las Farc tendrían 13.980 miembros|access-date=August 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813092738/http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/farc-tendrian-13980-miembros-articulo-648915|archive-date=August 13, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><br />[[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]]: 1,380–3,000 (2013)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-rebels-oil-idUSBRE99H16T20131018|work=Reuters|title=Colombia's ELN rebels release oil workers after brief capture -police|date=October 18, 2013|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924190030/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-colombia-rebels-oil-idUSBRE99H16T20131018|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><br />[[Popular Liberation Army|EPL]]: 400 (2017)<ref name="pelusos">
{{cite web|url=http://lasillavacia.com/historia/las-10-razones-por-las-que-el-epl-es-un-problema-que-se-le-crecio-al-gobierno-59861|title=Las 10 razones por las que el EPL es un problema que se le creció al Gobierno|work=La Silla Vacía |publisher=lasillavacia.com|access-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817034735/http://lasillavacia.com/historia/las-10-razones-por-las-que-el-epl-es-un-problema-que-se-le-crecio-al-gobierno-59861|archive-date=August 17, 2017|url-status=live}}
</ref><br />[[FARC dissidents]]: 2,500 (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/least-14-rebels-killed-fighting-with-colombian-army-2021-04-18/|title=At least 14 rebels killed in fighting with Colombian army|date=April 18, 2021|website=Reuters}}</ref>
| casualties1       = {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Military Forces of Colombia|Army and Police]]: <br />4,908 killed since 2004<ref name="Military Personnel"/><br />20,001 injured since 2004<ref name="Military Personnel"/>
| casualties2       = {{flagicon image|Flag of AUC.svg}} [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]]:<br /> 2,200 killed <br /> 35,000 demobilized<br />[[Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia#Post-AUC successor criminal groups|BACRIM]]:<br />222 killed<ref name="Military Personnel"/><br />18,506 captured<ref name="Military Personnel"/> <br /> [[Medellín Cartel]]: <br /> 2,100 killed
| casualties3       = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]],<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of ELN.svg}} [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] and other '''irregular military groups:''' <br /> 11,484 killed since 2004<ref name="Military Personnel"/> <br /> 26,648 demobilized since 2002<ref name="eltiempo.com">{{cite web|url= http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/desmovilizacion-principal-arma-contra-las-guerrillas_13077339-4|title= Desmovilización, principal arma contra las guerrillas|date= September 22, 2013|publisher= eltiempo.com|language= es|access-date= September 26, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130923064310/http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/desmovilizacion-principal-arma-contra-las-guerrillas_13077339-4|archive-date= September 23, 2013|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> <br /> 34,065 captured since 2004<ref name="Military Personnel"/>
| notes             = 
| casus             = 
| casualties4       = Civilians killed: 177,307<ref name="estadisticas"/><br />People abducted: 27,023<ref name="estadisticas"/><br />Total people displaced: 4,744,046–5,712,506<ref name="estadisticas"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Silva|first=Gustavo|title=The price of Colombia's drug war|url=http://colombiareports.com/opinion/131-gustavo-silva-cano/7824-the-price-of-colombias-drug-war.html|access-date=October 9, 2011|newspaper=Colombia Reports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221185224/http://colombiareports.com/opinion/131-gustavo-silva-cano/7824-the-price-of-colombias-drug-war.html|archive-date=February 21, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><br />Number of refugees: 340,000<ref>{{cite web |title=COLOMBIA FACTSHEET February 2017 |url=http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Colombia%20Factsheet%20-%20February%202017.pdf |website=[[UNHCR]] |access-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225051547/http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Colombia%20Factsheet%20-%20February%202017.pdf |archive-date=December 25, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />'''Total dead:''' 450,000<ref>{{cite news |title=Colombia Truth Commission Gives Scathing Report on Civil War |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/colombia-truth-commission-gives-scathing-report-on-civil-war-/6637556.html |access-date=June 30, 2022 |agency=[[Voice of America]] |date=June 28, 2022}}</ref><ref name="estadisticas"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Georgetown Welcomes Colombia's Ex-Pres. Uribe |url=http://www.jesusradicals.com/georgetown-welcomes-colombias-ex-pres-uribe/|publisher=Georgetown University|access-date=October 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113143821/http://www.jesusradicals.com/georgetown-welcomes-colombias-ex-pres-uribe/|archive-date=November 13, 2010}}</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Colombian conflict}}
{{History of Colombia}}
The '''Colombian conflict''' ({{langx|es|Conflicto armado interno de Colombia|lit=Colombian internal armed conflict}}) began on May 27, 1964, and is a [[low-intensity conflict|low-intensity]] [[Asymmetric warfare|asymmetric war]] between the [[government of Colombia]], far-right [[Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia|paramilitary groups]], [[Illegal drug trade in Colombia|crime syndicates]] and far-left [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] groups fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/011-war-and-drugs-in-colombia.aspx?alt_lang=es |title=War and Drugs in Colombia – International Crisis Group |publisher=Crisisgroup.org |access-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020023452/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/011-war-and-drugs-in-colombia.aspx?alt_lang=es |archive-date=October 20, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/10/daniel_loco_barrera_barrera_colombia_s_last_drug_lord_extradited_to_new_york|title='Loco,' Colombia's Last Drug Lord, Extradited to New York|date=July 10, 2013|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018213625/http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/10/daniel_loco_barrera_barrera_colombia_s_last_drug_lord_extradited_to_new_york|archive-date=October 18, 2014|url-status=live|last1=Friedman|first1=Uri}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/colombia-bacrim-paramilitary-cartels-nuevo-arco-iris|title=Neo-Paramilitary Groups Consolidating in Colombia: Report|publisher=Insightcrime.org|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022115344/http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/colombia-bacrim-paramilitary-cartels-nuevo-arco-iris|archive-date=October 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://colombiareports.co/neo-paramilitaries-have-no-political-agenda-govt/|title=Neo-paramilitaries do not deserve political status: Govt|work=Colombia News – Colombia Reports|date=March 23, 2011 |access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095323/http://colombiareports.co/neo-paramilitaries-have-no-political-agenda-govt/|archive-date=February 23, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://colombiareports.co/tag/armed-conflict/|title=armed conflict Archives – Colombia News – Colombia Reports|work=Colombia News – Colombia Reports|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901112610/http://colombiareports.co/tag/armed-conflict/|archive-date=September 1, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://colombiareports.co/tag/peace-talks-2/|title=peace talks Archives – Colombia News – Colombia Reports|work=Colombia News – Colombia Reports|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016173854/http://colombiareports.co/tag/peace-talks-2/|archive-date=October 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/10/26/the-colombian-war-on-drugs-a-family-affair/|title=The Colombian "War on Drugs", A Family Affair – SHOAH|publisher=Shoah.org|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301161118/http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/10/26/the-colombian-war-on-drugs-a-family-affair/|archive-date=March 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the most important international contributors to the Colombian conflict include [[multinational corporation]]s, the [[United States]],<ref name="HistoricalCommission">{{cite web|title= Contribution to an Understanding of the Armed Conflict in Colombia|author= Historical Commission on the Conflict and Its Victims (CHCV)|date= February 2015|url= https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/sites/default/files/Informe%20Comisi_n%20Hist_rica%20del%20Conflicto%20y%20sus%20V_ctimas.%20La%20Habana,%20Febrero%20de%202015.pdf|language= es|access-date= March 26, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160121194351/https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/sites/default/files/Informe%20Comisi_n%20Hist_rica%20del%20Conflicto%20y%20sus%20V_ctimas.%20La%20Habana%2C%20Febrero%20de%202015.pdf|archive-date= January 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="colombia-and-us-54"/><ref name="International actors"/> [[Cuba]],<ref>{{cite web| title=Cuba's Renewed Support for Violence in Latin America| publisher=United States Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs| date=December 14, 1981| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000902340022-5.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123073640/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000902340022-5.pdf | archive-date=January 23, 2017 |access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref> and the drug trafficking industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/sep/22/colombia-cocaine-farc|title='Without drug traffickers, we'd have peace': Colombian villagers flee new killings|date=September 22, 2018|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

The conflict is historically rooted in the conflict known as ''[[La Violencia]]'', which was triggered by the 1948 assassination of liberal political leader [[Jorge Eliécer Gaitán]]<ref name="beyond-bogota-timeline">{{cite book|title=Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondbogotadiar00leec|url-access=registration|author=Garry Leech|publisher=Beacon Press|location=Boston, MA|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8070-6148-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beyondbogotadiar00leec/page/242 242–247]}}</ref> and in the aftermath of the [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] repression in rural Colombia in the 1960s that led [[Colombian Liberal Party|Liberal]] and [[Colombian Communist Party|Communist]] militants to re-organize into the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]] (FARC).<ref name="americas-other-war-57">{{cite book|title=Colombia and the United States: war, unrest, and destabilization|author1=Mario A. Murillo|author2=Jesús Rey Avirama|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-58322-606-3|year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri|url-access=registration|quote=la violencia colombia united states.|page=[https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri/page/57 57]}}</ref>

The reasons for fighting vary from group to group. The FARC and other guerrilla movements claim to be fighting for the rights of the impoverished in Colombia to protect them from government violence and to provide [[social justice]] through [[communism]].<ref name=FARC2008MarulandaCommunique>{{cite web |title=Farc-EP confirma muerte de Marulanda a través de un comunicado |publisher=[[Rebelion.org]] |url=http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=67904 |date=May 26, 2008 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614141942/http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=67904 |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Colombian government claims to be fighting for order and stability and to protect the rights and interests of its citizens. The paramilitary groups claim to be [[Reactionary|reacting]] to perceived threats by guerrilla movements.<ref name='icdc.com'>{{cite web|url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/counterinsurgency.htm |title=War on Drugs and Human Rights in Colombia |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226211413/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/counterinsurgency.htm |archive-date=December 26, 2009 }}</ref>

According to a study by [[National Center for Historical Memory|Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory]], 220,000 people died in the conflict between 1958 and 2013, most of them civilians (177,307 civilians and 40,787 fighters), and more than five million civilians were forced from their homes between 1985 and 2012, generating the world's second-largest population of [[internally displaced person]]s (IDPs).<ref name="estadisticas">{{cite web |url=http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/informeGeneral/estadisticas.html |title=Informe ¡Basta Ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad: Estadísticas del conflicto armado en Colombia |work=Voxpopuli - ¡Basta ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad |access-date=April 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426215054/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/informeGeneral/estadisticas.html |archive-date=April 26, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Enough Already!">{{cite book|title= "Enough Already!" Colombia: Memories of War and Dignity|author= Historical Memory Group|publisher= The National Center for Historical Memory's (NCHM)|year= 2013|isbn= 978-958-57608-4-4|url= http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/descargas/informes2013/bastaYa/bastaya-colombia-memorias-de-guerra-y-dignidad-2015.pdf|language= es|access-date= December 11, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151211005217/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/descargas/informes2013/bastaYa/bastaya-colombia-memorias-de-guerra-y-dignidad-2015.pdf|archive-date= December 11, 2015|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera.com">{{cite news|title=Report says 220,000 died in Colombia conflict|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/07/201372511122146399.html|newspaper=Al Jazeera|date=July 25, 2013|access-date=July 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725132636/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/07/201372511122146399.html|archive-date=July 25, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> 16.9% of the population in Colombia has been a direct victim of the war.<ref name="arcoiris.com.co">{{cite news|url=http://rni.unidadvictimas.gov.co/RUV|title=Registro Único de Víctimas – Unidad para las Víctimas|date=May 14, 2016|publisher=arcoiris.com.co|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708143808/http://rni.unidadvictimas.gov.co/RUV|archive-date=July 8, 2016}}</ref> 2.3 million children have been displaced from their homes, and 45,000 children have been killed, according to national figures cited by [[UNICEF]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} In total, one in three of the 7.6 million registered victims of the conflict are children, and since 1985, 8,000 minors have disappeared.<ref name="Multi-Generation War">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/the-psychological-trauma-of-a-multi-generation-war/509207/ |title=The Psychological Trauma of a Multi-Generation War |work=The Atlantic |date=December 2016 |access-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305140621/https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/the-psychological-trauma-of-a-multi-generation-war/509207/ |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> A Special Unit was created to search for persons deemed as missing within the context of and due to the armed conflict.<ref name="victimsagreementfarc"/> As of April 2022, the Single Registry of Victims reported 9,263,826 victims of the Colombian conflict, with 2,048,563 of them being children.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2022 |title=Registro Único de Víctimas (RUV) |url=https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/registro-unico-de-victimas-ruv/ |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=Unidad para las Víctimas |language=es}}</ref>

Approximately 80% of those killed in the conflict have been civilians. In 2022, the Truth Commission of Colombia estimated that paramilitaries were responsible for 45% of civilian deaths, the guerrillas for 27%, and state forces for 12%, with the remaining 16% attributable to other groups or mixed responsibility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abcolombia.org.uk/truth-commission-of-colombia-executive-summary/|publisher=ABColombia| title=Truth Commission of Colombia: Executive Summary |date=July 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comisiondelaverdad.co/hay-futuro-si-hay-verdad|title=Findings and Recommendations from the Colombian Truth Commission (Hallazgos y Recomendaciones de la Comisión de la Verdad de Colombia) |publisher=Truth Commission (Comisión de la Verdad)|pages=127–128|date=July 26, 2022}}</ref>

On June 23, 2016, the Colombian government and the FARC rebels signed a historic ceasefire deal, bringing them closer to ending more than five decades of conflict.<ref name="Returning to everyday life">{{cite news|title=Returning to everyday life|author=Gregor Maaß |author2=Mario Pilz|url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/study-identifies-measures-reintegrate-victims-colombias-civil-war-everyday-life|access-date=August 12, 2016|publisher=D+C/Development+Cooperation|date=July 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724162359/http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/study-identifies-measures-reintegrate-victims-colombias-civil-war-everyday-life|archive-date=July 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the agreement was rejected in the subsequent October [[2016 Colombian peace agreement referendum|plebiscite]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Idler|first=Annette|title=Colombia just voted no on its plebiscite for peace. Here's why and what it means.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/10/03/colombia-just-voted-no-on-its-referendum-for-peace-heres-why-and-what-it-means/|access-date=June 23, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en}}</ref> the same month, the then Colombian president [[Juan Manuel Santos]] was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url= https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2016/press.html|title= The Nobel Peace Prize 2016 – Juan Manuel Santos|publisher= nobelprize.org|access-date= October 7, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161007090618/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2016/press.html|archive-date= October 7, 2016|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref> A revised peace deal was signed the following month and submitted to [[Congress of Colombia|Congress]] for approval.<ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38096179 |title=Colombia signs new peace deal with Farc |date=November 24, 2016 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228195756/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38096179 |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Chamber of Representatives of Colombia|House of Representatives]] unanimously approved the plan on November 30, a day after the [[Senate of Colombia|Senate]] gave its backing.<ref name="Washington Post">{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/colombian-congress-approves-historic-peace-deal/2016/11/30/9b2fda92-b5a7-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.html |title= Colombia's congress approves historic peace deal with FARC rebels |date= November 30, 2016 |newspaper= Washington Post |access-date= December 1, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161201090410/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/colombian-congress-approves-historic-peace-deal/2016/11/30/9b2fda92-b5a7-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.html |archive-date= December 1, 2016 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

== Background ==
The origin of the armed conflict in Colombia goes back to 1920, with agrarian disputes over the Sumapaz and Tequendama regions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecsbdefesa.com.br/defesa/fts/HGC.pdf|title=History of the Guerillas in Colombia|publisher=Ecsbdefesa.com.br|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126224947/http://ecsbdefesa.com.br/defesa/fts/HGC.pdf|archive-date=November 26, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Much of the background of the Colombian conflict is rooted in ''[[La Violencia]]'', a conflict in which [[Social liberalism|liberal]] and leftist parties united against the dictator of Colombia, [[Gustavo Rojas Pinilla]]. Colombia at the time was a [[banana republic]] dominated by foreign monopolies, specifically, the [[United Fruit Company]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The United Fruit Company existed to buy large quantities of [[crop|agricultural products]] in Latin America at cheap prices, then resell the crops in foreign markets for inflated amounts. Local farmers were impoverished and forced to grow specific crops, creating a [[monoculture]] in which farmers depended on the company for all food, products, and wages. The United Fruit Company would usually pay their workers in [[coupon]]s, worthless outside company stores, which would further charge extravagant prices compared to what workers earned. Further, the employment system was usually one in which farmers would be forced to sell their property to the United Fruit Company. They ended up having to work on the land, becoming indebted to the company and having to pay it back.

The United Fruit Company would hire [[Private military company|private militaries]] to enforce its power. Their purpose was to put down worker calls for reform, destroy unions, and put down worker [[revolution]]s. Any potential government threat to the United Fruit Company's interests in the country would result in its overturning in a company-backed coup. It propped up friendly puppet politicians and supported [[Right-wing terrorism|right-wing militias]] to maintain power.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Workers often organized and went on [[Strike action|strike]] against these conditions, forming local [[militia]]s against the United Fruit Company. This would usually lead to conflict between the two sides. This culminated in a strike in November 1928 by farmers in [[Ciénaga, Magdalena|Ciénaga]] for better working conditions. The striking workers called for an end to temporary contracts, the creation of mandatory worker insurance, the creation of compensation for work accidents, the creation of hygienic dormitories, the 6-day work week, the implementation of a [[minimum wage]], the abolishment of wages through company coupons and office stores, and the recognition of farmers and tenants as employees with legal rights. The strike quickly grew, becoming the largest in Colombia's history, with many [[Socialism|socialists]], anarchists, [[Marxism|Marxists]], and leftists joining and organizing the strike. The United Fruit Company demanded that the workers and the union disband. Following several weeks of failed negotiations, the Colombian government of [[Miguel Abadía Méndez]] sent the [[National Army of Colombia|Colombian Army]] to Ciénaga. After a standoff with the strikers, the Army shot into the crowd of strikers, killing between 68 and 2,000 people in what became known as the [[Banana Massacre]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brungardt |first=Maurice |date=1997 |title=La United Fruit Company en Colombia |url=https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/innovar/article/view/19092/20045 |journal=Innovar|issue=5 |pages=107–118 }}</ref>

This led to an outrage in the Colombian public, creating an explosion of leftists and [[revolutionary]] organizations. In [[Bogotá]], leftist students protested and organized against the Colombian government, eventually hoping to overthrow it. This opposition exploded in 1948. Upon hearing of the assassination of [[Socialism|socialist]] candidate [[Jorge Eliécer Gaitán]], many poor workers saw the death of Gaitán as a political [[assassination]] orchestrated by the rich. Workers began rioting and destroying the Colombian capital of Bogotá, leading to the death of 4,000 people. When news of the death of Gaitán reached the countryside, the local militias were furious and immediately started a civil war known as [[La Violencia]]. Joined by fellow leftists, a brutal war was fought for over 10 years, leading to the death of 200,000 people and the destruction of much of the country, resulting in a peace settlement and the changing of power from the [[Colombian Conservative Party]] to the [[Colombian Liberal Party]] and the [[Colombian Communist Party]] in 1958.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

As ''La Violencia'' wound down, most self-defense and guerrilla units composed of Liberal Party supporters were demobilized. At the same time, some former liberals and active [[Colombian Communist Party|communist]] groups continued operating in several rural enclaves. One of the Liberal bands was a group known as the "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia" (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), or FARC, formed by [[Manuel Marulanda|Pedro Antonio Marín]] in 1964. The FARC was founded out of fighters who were unhappy with the peace settlement. The goal of the FARC, among other things, was land redistribution that would benefit poor peasant farmers like Marín, along with the desire to establish a socialist state.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kraul|first1=Chris|title=The battles began in 1964: Here's a look at Colombia's war with the FARC rebels|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-colombia-farc-explainer-snap-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 30, 2016|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017163920/http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-colombia-farc-explainer-snap-story.html|archive-date=October 17, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1958, an exclusively bipartisan political alternation system, known as the National Front, resulted from an agreement between the Liberal and Conservative parties. The agreement had come as a result of the two parties attempting to find a final political solution to the decade of mutual violence and unrest, remaining in effect until 1974.<ref name="beyond-bogota-timeline" />

== Causes ==
Colombia has a long history of political violence. Land, power, and wealth are unevenly distributed, and many rural citizens are used to having to fend for themselves.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-37181413|title=¿Por qué empezó y qué pasó en la guerra de más de 50 años que desangró a Colombia?|last=Cosoy|first=Natalio|date=August 24, 2016|access-date=March 29, 2019|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329194755/https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-37181413|archive-date=March 29, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> There is no consensus about the date on which the conflict began, with some saying 1958 (with the start of the ''Frente Nacional'' (National Front))<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/informeGeneral/|title=¡Basta ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad|website=¡Basta ya! Colombia: memorias de guerra y dignidad|language=es|access-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207053818/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/informeGeneral/|archive-date=December 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and others 1964 (with the creation of the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2015 |title=Las teorías del origen del conflicto armado en Colombia |url=https://www.elheraldo.co/politica/las-teorias-del-origen-del-conflicto-armado-en-colombia-184562 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329194755/https://www.elheraldo.co/politica/las-teorias-del-origen-del-conflicto-armado-en-colombia-184562 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |access-date=March 29, 2019 |website=www.elheraldo.co |language=es}}</ref>

In the mid-1980s, Colombia granted local governments greater political and fiscal autonomy. This strengthened the government's position in more remote regions.<ref name="Colombian armed conflict">{{cite journal |last=Yaffe |first=Lilian |date=July 1, 2011 |title=Conflicto armado en Colombia: análisis de las causas económicas, sociales e institucionales de la oposición violenta |trans-title=Armed conflict in Colombia: analyzing the economic, social, and institutional causes of violent opposition |url=https://www.icesi.edu.co/revistas/index.php/revista_cs/article/view/1133 |format=PDF |journal=Revista CS |language=es |location=Cali, Colombia |publisher=[[Universidad Icesi]] |issue=8 |pages=187–208 |doi=10.18046/recs.i8.1133 |issn=2011-0324 |eissn=2665-4814 |access-date=February 1, 2020 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1985, during peace talks with then-President [[Belisario Betancur]], the FARC created the left-wing [[Patriotic Union (Colombia)|Patriotic Union]] party as a route from violence to mainstream politics. Between 1985 and 2002, 4,153 members and supporters of the party were kidnapped and murdered by right-wing paramilitaries with government support. This included two presidential candidates, 6 out of 16 congressmembers, 17 regional representatives, and 163 councilmembers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/informes/publicaciones-por-ano/2018/todo-paso-frente-a-nuestros-ojos-genocidio-de-la-union-patriotica-1984-2002|title=Todo pasó frente a nuestros ojos. Genocidio de la Unión Patriótica 1984–2002|website=www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co|language=es-es|access-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329194757/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/informes/publicaciones-por-ano/2018/todo-paso-frente-a-nuestros-ojos-genocidio-de-la-union-patriotica-1984-2002|archive-date=March 29, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> These killings aggravated the conflict.<ref name="U.P.">{{cite news|url= https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21582305-these-are-what-left-most-needs-peace-and-brotherly-love|title= Peace and brotherly love|publisher= economist.com|date= July 27, 2013|access-date= October 22, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131017005756/http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21582305-these-are-what-left-most-needs-peace-and-brotherly-love|archive-date= October 17, 2013|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

In the 1980s, drug trafficking increased, bringing a concomitant increase in violence. Trafficking began in the 1960s and 70s when a group of [[Americans]] began to smuggle [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]]. Later, the [[American Mafia]] moved into drug trafficking in Colombia alongside local marijuana producers.<ref name="Anne-Marie Losonczy">{{cite web|url= http://oraloteca.unimagdalena.edu.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Memoria-de-violencia-la-bonanza-marimbera-en-Santa-Marta-1.pdf|title= Memorias de violencia: bonanza marimbera en la ciudad de Santa Marta durante las década del setenta al ochenta.|publisher= unimagdalena.edu.co|language= es|access-date= February 21, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170221060012/http://oraloteca.unimagdalena.edu.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Memoria-de-violencia-la-bonanza-marimbera-en-Santa-Marta-1.pdf|archive-date= February 21, 2017|df= mdy-all}}</ref> [[Cocaine]] and other drugs produced in Colombia were mostly consumed in the US as well as Europe.

[[Organized crime]] in Colombia grew increasingly powerful in the 1970s and 80s with the introduction of massive drug trafficking to the United States from Colombia.<ref name="El narcotráfico">{{cite web |url= http://www.verdadabierta.com/la-historia-de-las-farc/243-la-historia/farc/139-el-narcotrafico |title= El narcotráfico |date= August 21, 2008 |publisher= verdadabierta.com |language= es |access-date= February 11, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140221160301/http://www.verdadabierta.com/la-historia-de-las-farc/243-la-historia/farc/139-el-narcotrafico |archive-date= February 21, 2014 |url-status= live |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.radionacional.co/linea-tiempo-paz/bonanza-marimbera|title= LA BONANZA MARIMBERA|publisher= radionacional.co|access-date= February 21, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171012035918/https://www.radionacional.co/linea-tiempo-paz/bonanza-marimbera|archive-date= October 12, 2017|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> After the Colombian government dismantled{{when|date=February 2017}} many of the drug cartels that appeared in the country during the 1980s, [[Guerrilla movements in Colombia|left-wing guerrilla groups]] and [[Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia|right-wing paramilitary organizations]] resumed some of their drug trafficking activities. They resorted to extortion and kidnapping for financing, activities which led to a loss of support from the local population.<ref name="Colombian armed conflict" /> These funds helped finance paramilitaries and guerrillas, allowing these organizations to buy weapons which were then sometimes used to attack military and civilian targets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iecah.org/index.php/articulos/699-colombia-de-la-guerra-antidrogas-a-la-guerra-contra-el-terrorismo|title=Colombia, de la guerra antidrogas a la guerra contra el terrorismo|first=Mabel González|last=Bustelo|website=iecah.org|date=November 14, 2003|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012035910/https://iecah.org/index.php/articulos/699-colombia-de-la-guerra-antidrogas-a-la-guerra-contra-el-terrorismo|archive-date=October 12, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-7934640|title=La bonanza de marihuana en Colombia (1974–1980)|first=Casa Editorial El|last=Tiempo|website=El Tiempo|date=September 20, 2010|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508115410/http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-7934640|archive-date=May 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the presidency of [[Álvaro Uribe]], the government applied more military pressure on the FARC and other outlawed far-left groups. After the offensive, many security indicators improved.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/Mindefensa/Documentos/descargas/estudios%20sectoriales/info_estadistica/Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf|title= Military Personnel – Logros de la Política Integral de Seguridad y Defensa para la Prosperidad|language= es|publisher= mindefensa.gov.co|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150413195638/http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/Mindefensa/Documentos/descargas/estudios%20sectoriales/info_estadistica/Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf|archive-date= April 13, 2015|df= mdy-all}}</ref> As part of a controversial peace process, the [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]] (right-wing paramilitaries) as a formal organization had ceased to function.<ref name="Enough Already!"/><ref name="CIAWFB">{{cite web|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|work=[[The World Factbook]]|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/colombia/|title=Colombia|access-date=May 24, 2009}}</ref> Colombia achieved a great decrease in cocaine production, leading White House [[drug czar]] R. [[Gil Kerlikowske]] to announce that Colombia was no longer the world's biggest producer of cocaine.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45589&Cr=drugs&Cr1=#.UgRVaOEu3zo|title= Colombia grew less coca in 2012, UN survey reports|date= August 8, 2013|publisher= un.org|access-date= August 8, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130826072611/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45589&Cr=drugs&Cr1=#.UgRVaOEu3zo|archive-date= August 26, 2013|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/07/white-house-colombia-is-no-longer-top-cocaine-producer/1|title=Colombia no longer top cocaine producer|publisher=usatoday.com|access-date=April 24, 2013|date=July 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112083655/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/07/white-house-colombia-is-no-longer-top-cocaine-producer/1|archive-date=November 12, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The United States is still the world's largest consumer of cocaine<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html|title=The World Factbook|access-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229044611/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html|archive-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref> and other illegal drugs.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-leads-the-world-in-illegal-drug-use/| title=U.S. Leads the World in Illegal Drug Use| work=CBS News| date=July 1, 2008| access-date=March 26, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927151429/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-leads-the-world-in-illegal-drug-use/| archive-date=September 27, 2014| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30946730|title=U.S. drug habit keeps Mexican war boiling|work=NBC News|date=May 26, 2009 |access-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309180555/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/30946730/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/us-drug-habits-help-finance-mexican-cartels/#.Uxx6Qvl5PIc|archive-date=March 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Oriana Zill |author2=Lowell Bergman|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/math.html|title=Special Reports – Do The Math – Why The Illegal Business Is Thriving – Drug Wars|work=[[Frontline (U.S. TV program)|Frontline]]|publisher=PBS|date=2000|access-date=August 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231003658/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/math.html|archive-date=December 31, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2008, millions of Colombians demonstrated against the FARC and other outlawed groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/oscar-morales-and-one-million-voices-against-farc/ |title=Oscar Morales and One Million Voices Against FARC |publisher=movements.org |date=July 23, 2010 |access-date=April 1, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410102452/http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/oscar-morales-and-one-million-voices-against-farc |archive-date=April 10, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2012/09/one-million-voices-against-the-farc-a-milestone-for-freedom.html|title=One Million Voices Against the FARC: A Milestone for Freedom|publisher=[[George W. Bush Presidential Center]]|date=February 4, 2011|access-date=February 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213010313/https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2012/09/one-million-voices-against-the-farc-a-milestone-for-freedom.html|archive-date=February 13, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millondevoces.org/contenido/ |title=One Million Voices Against FARC |publisher=millondevoces.org |language=es |access-date=April 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323095958/http://www.millondevoces.org/contenido/ |archive-date=March 23, 2013 }}</ref> The Colombian Ministry of Defense reported 19,504 [[Desertion|deserters]] from the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] between August 2002 and their collective demobilization in 2017, peaking in the year 2008.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nussio |first1=Enzo|last2=Ugarriza |first2=Juan E. |title=Why Rebels Stop Fighting: Organizational Decline and Desertion in Colombia's Insurgency |journal=International Security |date=2021 |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=167–203 |doi=10.1162/isec_a_00406 |issn=0162-2889 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article/45/4/167/100570/Why-Rebels-Stop-Fighting-Organizational-Decline|doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11850/480000 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> During these years, the [[Military Forces of Colombia|military forces]] of the Republic of Colombia were strengthened.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ejercito.mil.co/?idcategoria=334768 |title= Presidente Santos anunció fortalecimiento de las capacidades y equipos de la Fuerza Pública |publisher= ejercito.mil.co |access-date= September 25, 2013 |language= es |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927122255/http://www.ejercito.mil.co/?idcategoria=334768 |archive-date= September 27, 2013 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

The 2012 [[Colombian peace process|peace process in Colombia]] refers to the dialogue in Havana, [[Cuba]], between the [[Government of Colombia|Colombian government]] and the [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] of the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC-EP]] to find a political solution to the armed conflict. After almost four years of peace negotiations, the Colombian state and the FARC announced [[Colombian peace process|consensus on a 6-point plan towards peace and reconciliation]].<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/documentos-y-comunicados|title= Colombia's peace deals|publisher= mesadeconversaciones.com.co|access-date= August 24, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160401043425/https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/documentos-y-comunicados|archive-date= April 1, 2016|df= dmy-all}}</ref> The government also began a process of assistance and reparation for victims of conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Documents/130220-1-cartilla-ley-victimas-restitucion-tierras.pdf |title=Ley de víctimas y restitución de tierras |publisher=derechoshumanos.gov.co |access-date=October 23, 2013 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201656/http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/Documents/130220-1-cartilla-ley-victimas-restitucion-tierras.pdf |archive-date=October 29, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Unidad de restitución de tierras">{{cite web |url=http://restituciondetierras.gov.co/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305121426/http://restituciondetierras.gov.co/ |archive-date=March 5, 2013 |title=Unidad de restitución de tierras |publisher=restituciondetierras.gov.co |access-date=March 23, 2013 }}</ref> Recently, U.P. supporters reconstituted the political party within the reconciliation process.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/la-union-patriotica-vuelve-arena-politica/350213-3 |title= La Unión Patriótica vuelve a la arena política |date= July 9, 2013 |publisher= semana.com |access-date= October 23, 2013 |language= es |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029203638/http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/la-union-patriotica-vuelve-arena-politica/350213-3 |archive-date= October 29, 2013 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref> Colombia's congress approved the revised [[Colombian peace process|peace accord]].<ref name="Washington Post"/>

In February 2015, the Historical Commission on the Conflict and its Victims (Comisión Histórica del Conflicto Armado y sus Víctimas – CHCV) published its report entitled "Contribution to an Understanding of the Armed Conflict in Colombia." The document addresses the "multiple reasons for the conflict, the principle factors and circumstances that made it possible, and the most notable impacts on the population" and explains Colombia's armed conflict in terms of international law.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/commission-seeks-explain-causes-conflict-colombia |title= Understanding Colombia's war |author= Kai Ambos |author2=John Zuluaga |date= July 3, 2015 |publisher= D+C, development and cooperation |access-date= December 21, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222173934/http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/commission-seeks-explain-causes-conflict-colombia |archive-date= December 22, 2015 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

== Timeline ==

=== 1960s ===
During this period, the main conflict in Colombia was between leftist guerillas and the central government. Key concerns included access to land, the battle between communist and far-right ideologies, and the marginalization of peasant populations.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Autesserre|first1=Séverine|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001/oso-9780197530351|title=The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World|last2=Gbowee|first2=Leymah|date=May 3, 2021|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-753035-1|edition=1|language=en|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197530351.001.0001}}</ref>

In the early 1960s, Colombian Army units loyal to the [[History of Colombia#The National Front regime (1958–1974)|National Front]] began to attack peasant communities. This happened throughout Colombia, with the Colombian army deeming these peasant communities as enclaves for bandits and communists. It was the 1964 attack on the community of [[Marquetalia, Caldas|Marquetalia]] that motivated the later creation of FARC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/planlazomarquetalia.htm |title=Marquetalia and the FARC |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028135631/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/planlazomarquetalia.htm |archive-date=October 28, 2010 }}</ref> Despite the infantry and police encirclement of the villages inside Marquetalia (3500 men swept through the area), Manuel Marulanda managed to escape the army cordon.

Unlike the rural FARC, which had roots in the previous Liberal peasant struggles, the ELN was mostly an outgrowth of university unrest. It would subsequently tend to follow a small group of charismatic leaders, including [[Camilo Torres Restrepo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/universityviolence.htm#eln |title=Camilo Torres and the ELN |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007003946/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/universityviolence.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2008 }}</ref>

Both guerrilla groups remained mostly operational in remote areas of the country during the rest of the 1960s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

The Colombian government organized several short-lived counter-guerrilla campaigns in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The U.S. government and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] aided these efforts, which employed hunter-killer teams and involved U.S. personnel from the previous [[Philippines|Philippine]] campaign against the [[Hukbalahap|Huks]], who would later participate in the subsequent [[Phoenix Program]] in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="icdc.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/planlazomtt.htm |title=Hunter Killer Teams |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606144047/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/planlazomtt.htm |archive-date=June 6, 2009 }}</ref>

=== 1970s ===
[[File:Uniforme de combate para Oficiales y Suboficiales.JPG|thumb|Colombian soldier]]
By 1974, another challenge to the state's authority and legitimacy had come from the [[19th of April Movement]] (M-19), leading to a new phase in the conflict. The M-19 was a mostly urban guerrilla group, founded in response to an alleged electoral fraud during the final National Front election of [[Misael Pastrana Borrero]] (1970–1974) against former President [[Gustavo Rojas Pinilla]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/r/rojas_gustavo.htm |title=biografia Gustavo Rojas Pinilla |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408104500/http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/r/rojas_gustavo.htm |archive-date=April 8, 2016 }}</ref>

=== 1980s ===
{{See also|Cocaine boom}}
By 1982, the perceived passivity of the FARC, together with the relative success of the government's efforts against the M-19 and the ELN, enabled the administration of the Liberal Party's [[Julio César Turbay Ayala]] (1978–82) to lift a state-of-siege decree that had been in effect, on and off, for most of the previous 30 years. Under the latest such decree, President Turbay had implemented security policies that, though of some military value against the M-19 in particular, were considered highly questionable both inside and outside Colombian circles due to numerous accusations of military [[human rights abuse]]s against suspects and captured guerrillas.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Citizen exhaustion due to the conflict's newfound intensity led to the election with 47% of the popular vote of President [[Belisario Betancur]] (1982–1986), a Conservative. Betancur directed peace feelers at all the insurgents, and negotiated a 1984 cease-fire with the FARC at [[La Uribe]], [[Meta Department|Meta]], after a 1982 release of many guerrillas imprisoned during the previous effort to overpower them. A truce was also arranged with the M-19. The [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]], however, rejected any negotiations and continued to rebuild through the use of extortion and threats, in particular against oil companies of European and U.S. origin.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

At the same time as these developments, the growing [[illegal drug trade]] was becoming increasingly important to all participants in the Colombian conflict. Guerrillas and newly wealthy drug lords had mutually uneven relations and numerous incidents occurred between them. Eventually the kidnapping of drug cartel family members by guerrillas led to the creation in 1981 of the ''[[Muerte a Secuestradores]]'' ("Death to Kidnappers") death squad (MAS). The [[Medellín Cartel]] and other cartels came under pressure from the U.S. government and from critical sectors of Colombian society who supported the [[extradition]] of suspected Colombian cartel members to the U.S. The cartels responded by bribing or murdering numerous public officials, politicians and others. Their victims included Justice Minister [[Rodrigo Lara Bonilla]], whose assassination in 1984 led the Betancur administration to confront the drug lords directly.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

The first negotiated cease-fire with the [[19th of April Movement|M-19]] ended when the guerrillas resumed fighting in 1985. The M-19 claimed that the cease-fire had not been fully respected by official security forces, alleged that several of its members had suffered threats and assaults, and questioned the government's real willingness to implement any accords. The Betancur administration in turn criticized the M-19's actions and questioned its commitment to the peace process, while at the same time continuing to advance high-profile negotiations with the FARC. These negotiations led to the creation of the [[Patriotic Union (Colombia)|Patriotic Union]] (''Unión Patriótica'') -UP-, a legal and non-clandestine political organization.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

On November 6, 1985, the M-19 [[Palace of Justice siege|stormed the Colombian Palace of Justice]] and held the Supreme Court magistrates hostage, intending to put President Betancur on trial. The military responded with force and in the ensuing crossfire some 120 people lost their lives, including most of the guerrillas (several high-ranking operatives among them) and 12 Supreme Court Judges.{{Ref|InsideColombia}} Both sides blamed each other for the bloodbath, which marked the end of Betancur's peace process.{{Ref|InsideColombia}}

Meanwhile, individual FARC members initially joined the UP leadership in representation of the guerrilla command, though most of the guerrilla's chiefs and militiamen did not demobilize nor disarm, as that was not a requirement of the process at that point in time. Tension soon significantly increased, as both sides began to accuse each other of not respecting the cease-fire.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

According to historian Daniel Pecáut, the creation of the Patriotic Union took the guerrillas' political message to a wider public outside of the traditional communist spheres of influence and led to local electoral victories in regions such as Urabá and Antioquia, with their mayoral candidates winning 23 municipalities and their congressional ones gaining 14 seats (five in the Senate, nine in the lower Chamber) in 1988.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pecáut |first1=Daniel |title=Las FARC: ¿Una guerrilla sin fin o sin fines? |publisher=Grupo Editorial Norma |year=2008 |pages=50–51 |isbn=978-958-45-1322-9}}</ref> According to journalist Steven Dudley, who interviewed ex-FARC as well as former members of the UP and the Communist Party,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dudley |first1=Steven |title=Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/walkingghostsmur00dudl/page/58 58–61, 94–95, 233–237] |isbn=0-415-93303-X |url=https://archive.org/details/walkingghostsmur00dudl/page/58 }}</ref> FARC leader [[Jacobo Arenas]] insisted to his subordinates that the UP's creation did not mean that the group would lay down its arms; neither did it imply a rejection of the Seventh Conference's military strategy.<ref>Dudley, p. 56</ref> Pecáut states that new recruits entered the guerrilla army and its urban militia units during this period, and that the FARC continued to carry out kidnappings and to target regional politicians for assassination.<ref>Pecáut, p. 51-52</ref>

In October 1987 [[Jaime Pardo Leal]], who had been the UP's presidential candidate the previous year, was assassinated amid a wave of violence in which thousands of the party's members perished at the hands of death squads.<ref>Dudley, pp. 91–104</ref><ref name="still-being-160-163">{{Cite book|title=You are still being lied to: the remixed disinformation guide to media distortion, historical whitewashes and cultural myths |publisher=Constellation |year=2009| isbn=978-1-934708-07-1 |editor=Russ Kick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pkUl8QASqHMC&q=farc+paramilitaries&pg=PA160|pages=160–163}}</ref> According to Pecáut, the killers included members of the military and the political class who had opposed Betancur's peace process and considered the UP to be little more than a "facade" for the FARC, as well as drug traffickers and landowners who were also involved in the establishment of paramilitary groups.<ref>Pécaut, p.51</ref>

=== 1990s ===

==== Early 1990s ====
The [[Virgilio Barco Vargas]] (1986–1990) administration, in addition to continuing to handle the difficulties of the complex negotiations with the guerrillas, also inherited a particularly chaotic confrontation against the drug lords, who were engaged in a campaign of terrorism and murder in response to government moves in favor of their extradition overseas.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

In June 1987, the ceasefire between FARC and the Colombian government formally collapsed after the guerrillas attacked a military unit in the jungles of Caquetá.<ref name="Pecáut, p. 52">Pecáut, p. 52</ref><ref name="Dudley, p. 102">Dudley, p. 102</ref> According to journalist Steven Dudley, FARC founder [[Jacobo Arenas]] considered the incident to be a "natural" part of the truce and reiterated the group's intention to continue the dialogue, but President Barco sent an ultimatum to the guerrillas and demanded that they immediately disarm or face military retaliation.<ref name="Dudley, p. 102"/> Regional guerrilla and Army skirmishes created a situation where each violation of the ceasefire rendered it null in each location, until it was rendered practically nonexistent.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

By 1990, at least 2,500 members of the FARC-founded Patriotic Union had been murdered, according to historian Daniel Pecáut, leading up to that year's assassination of presidential candidate [[Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa]]. The Colombian government initially blamed drug lord [[Pablo Escobar]] for the murder but journalist Steven Dudley argues that many in the UP pointed at then-Interior Minister [[Carlos Lemos Simmonds]] for publicly calling out the UP as the "political wing of FARC" shortly before the murder, while others claimed it was the result of an alliance between [[Fidel Castaño]], members of the Colombian military and the [[Administrative Department of Security|DAS]].<ref>Dudley, pp. 162–165</ref> Pecáut and Dudley argue that significant tensions had emerged between Jaramillo, FARC and the Communist Party due to the candidate's recent criticism of the armed struggle and their debates over the rebels' use of kidnapping, almost leading to a formal break.<ref>Dudley, pp. 127–139, 165–166</ref><ref>Pecáut, pp. 51–52</ref> Jaramillo's death led to a large exodus of UP militants; in addition, by then many FARC cadres who joined the party had already returned to clandestinity, using the UP experience as an argument in favor of revolutionary war.<ref name="still-being-160-163" /><ref name="Pecáut, p. 52"/><ref>Dudley, pp. 165–166</ref>

The M-19 and several smaller guerrilla groups were successfully incorporated into a peace process as the 1980s ended and the 1990s began, which culminated in the elections for a [[Constituent Assembly of Colombia]] that would write a new constitution, which took effect in 1991.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Contacts with the FARC, which had irregularly continued despite the end of the ceasefire and the official 1987 break from negotiations, were temporarily cut off in 1990 under the presidency of [[César Gaviria Trujillo]] (1990–1994). The Colombian Army's assault on the FARC's ''Casa Verde'' sanctuary at [[La Uribe]], [[Meta Department|Meta]], followed by a FARC offensive that sought to undermine the deliberations of the Constitutional Assembly, began to highlight a significant break in the uneven negotiations carried over from the previous decade.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Both parties nevertheless never completely broke off some amount of political contacts for long, as some peace feelers continued to exist, leading to short rounds of conversations in both [[Caracas]], Venezuela (1991) and [[Tlaxcala]], Mexico (1992). Despite the signing of several documents, no concrete results were achieved when the talks ended.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

==== Mid-1990s ====
FARC military activity increased throughout the bulk of the 1990s as the group continued to grow in wealth from both kidnapping and drug-related activities, while drug crops rapidly spread throughout the countryside. The guerrillas protected many of the coca growers from eradication campaigns and allowed them to grow and commercialize coca in exchange for a "tax" either in money or in crops.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

In this context, FARC had managed to recruit and train more fighters, beginning to use them in concentrated attacks in a novel and mostly unexpected way. This led to a series of high-profile raids and attacks against Colombian state bases and patrols, mostly in the southeast of Colombia but also affecting other areas.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

In mid-1996, a civic protest movement made up of an estimated 200,000 coca growers from [[Putumayo Department|Putumayo]] and part of [[Cauca Department|Cauca]] began marching against the Colombian government to reject its drug war policies, including fumigations and the declaration of special security zones in some departments. Different analysts have stressed that the movement itself fundamentally originated on its own, but at the same time, FARC heavily encouraged the marchers and actively promoted their demands both peacefully and through the threat of force.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ces.fe.uc.pt/emancipa/research/en/ft/marchas.html |title=Research |publisher=Ces.fe.uc.pt |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201953/http://www.ces.fe.uc.pt/emancipa/research/en/ft/marchas.html |archive-date=September 23, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uasb.edu.ec/padh/revista11/actualidad/milson%20betancourt.htm |title=Milson Betancourt |publisher=Uasb.edu.ec |access-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311043855/http://www.uasb.edu.ec/padh/revista11/actualidad/milson%20betancourt.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2012 }}</ref>

Additionally, in 1997 and 1998, town councilmen in dozens of municipalities of the south of the country were threatened, killed, kidnapped, forced to resign or to exile themselves to department capitals by the FARC and the ELN.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Colom99sp/capitulo-1.htm|title=CONTEXT ANALYSIS OF RIGHTS SITUATION IN COLOMBIA HUMAN|publisher=Cidh.oas.org|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916190905/http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Colom99sp/capitulo-1.htm|archive-date=September 16, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsdh97.shtml|title=Informe sobre prácticas de derechos humanos|date=January 30, 1998|language=es|access-date=August 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050902193416/http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsdh97.shtml|archive-date=September 2, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports98/colombia/Colom989-05.htm |title=Colombia and International Humanitarian Law |access-date=February 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213145647/http://www.hrw.org/reports98/colombia/Colom989-05.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2008 }}</ref>

In Las Delicias, [[Caquetá Department|Caquetá]], five FARC fronts (about 400 guerrillas) recognized intelligence pitfalls in a Colombian Army base and exploited them to overrun it on August 30, 1996, killing 34 soldiers, wounding 17 and taking some 60 as prisoners. Another significant attack took place in El Billar, Caquetá on March 2, 1998, where a Colombian Army counterinsurgency battalion was patrolling, resulting in the death of 62 soldiers and the capture of some 43. Other FARC attacks against Police bases in [[Miraflores, Guaviare|Miraflores]], [[Guaviare Department|Guaviare]] and [[La Uribe]], [[Meta Department|Meta]] in August 1998 killed more than a hundred soldiers, policemen and civilians, and resulted in the capture or kidnapping of a hundred more.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

These attacks, and the dozens of members of the Colombian security forces taken prisoner by the FARC, contributed to increasingly shaming the government of President [[Ernesto Samper Pizano]] (1994–1998) in the eyes of sectors of public and political opinion. He was already the target of numerous critics due to revelations of a drug-money scandal surrounding his presidential campaign. Perceptions of corruption due to similar scandals led to Colombia's decertification as a country cooperating with the United States in the [[war on drugs]] in 1995 (when the effects of the measure were temporarily waived), 1996 and 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/colombia_3-20.html|title=Online NewsHour: President Samper of Colombia|date=March 20, 1996|work=PBS NewsHour|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026124344/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/colombia_3-20.html|archive-date=October 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.public-i.org/report.aspx?aid=254&sid=100|title=Narcotics and Economics Drive U.S. Policy in Latin America|access-date=August 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027170037/http://www.public-i.org/report.aspx?aid=254&sid=100|archive-date=October 27, 2005}}</ref>

The Samper administration reacted against FARC's attacks by gradually abandoning numerous vulnerable and isolated outposts in more than 100,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of the rural countryside, instead concentrating Army and Police forces in the more heavily defended strongholds available, which allowed the guerrillas to more directly mobilize through and influence events in large areas of rural territory which were left with little or no remaining local garrisons.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Samper also contacted the guerrillas to negotiate the release of some or all of the hostages in FARC hands, which led to the temporary demilitarization of the municipality of [[Cartagena del Chairá]], [[Caquetá Department|Caquetá]] in July 1997 and the unilateral liberation of 70 soldiers, a move which was opposed by the command of the Colombian military. Other contacts between the guerrillas and government, as well as with representatives of religious and economic sectors, continued throughout 1997 and 1998.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Altogether, these events were interpreted by some Colombian and foreign analysts as a turning point in the armed confrontation, giving the FARC the upper hand in the military and political balance, making the Colombian government a target of critics from some observers who concluded that its weakness was being evidenced, perhaps even foreshadowing a future guerrilla victory in the middle term. A leaked 1998 U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) report went so far as to speculate that this could be possible within 5 years if the guerrilla's rate of operations was kept up without effective opposition. Some viewed this report as inaccurate and alarmist, claiming that it did not properly take into account many factors, such as possible actions that the Colombian state and the U.S. might take in response to the situation, nor the effects of the existence of paramilitary groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tni.org/drugscolombia-docs/lasa.htm|title=Waging War US Policy Toward Colombia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222194241/http://www.tni.org/drugscolombia-docs/lasa.htm|archive-date=February 22, 2005}}</ref>

Also during this period, paramilitary activities increased, both legally and illegally. The creation of legal [[CONVIVIR]] self-defense and intelligence gathering groups was authorized by Congress and the Samper administration in 1994. Members of CONVIVIR groups were accused of committing numerous abuses against the civilian population by several human rights organizations. The groups were left without legal support after a 1997 decision by the Colombian Constitutional Court which restricted many of their prerogatives and demanded stricter oversight. However, in April 1997, preexisting paramilitary forces and several former CONVIVIR members were joined to create the [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]], a large paramilitary militia closely tied to drug trafficking which carried out attacks on the [[FARC]] and [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] rebel groups as well as civilians starting with the 1997 [[Mapiripán Massacre]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=35&regionSelect=5-Southern_Americas|title=Database – Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)|publisher=Ucdp.uu.se|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606082744/http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=35&regionSelect=5-Southern_Americas|archive-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>

The AUC, originally present around the central/northwest part of the country, executed a series of raids into areas of guerrilla influence, targeting those that they considered as either guerrillas or their supporters.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=126|title=Terrorist Organization Profiles – START – National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism|publisher=Start.umd.edu|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727204306/http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=126|archive-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref> This resulted in a continuing series of massacres. After some of these operations, government prosecutors and/or human rights organizations blamed officers and members of Colombian Army and police units for either passively permitting these acts, or directly collaborating in their execution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revistacambio.com/html/portada/articulos/2142/|title=Uscátegui acusa|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201073959/http://www.revistacambio.com/html/portada/articulos/2142/|archive-date=December 1, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR230302002?open&of=ENG-2M4|title=Human Rights and USA Military Aid to Colombia III|access-date=August 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040202152434/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR230302002?open&of=ENG-2M4|archive-date=February 2, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/spanish/informes/1998/guerra3C.html|title=Guerra sin cuartel Colombia y el derecho internacional humanitario|language=es|access-date=August 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830073333/https://www.hrw.org/spanish/informes/1998/guerra3C.html|archive-date=August 30, 2005}}</ref>

=== 1998–1999 ===
On August 7, 1998, [[Andrés Pastrana Arango]] was sworn in as the President of Colombia. A member of the Conservative Party, Pastrana defeated Liberal Party candidate Horacio Serpa in a run-off election marked by high voter turn-out and little political unrest. The new president's program was based on a commitment to bring about a peaceful resolution of Colombia's longstanding civil conflict and to cooperate fully with the United States to combat the trafficking of illegal drugs.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

In July 1999, Colombian military forces attacked the town of [[Puerto Lleras]] where FARC rebels were stationed. Using U.S. supplied aircraft and equipment, and backed with U.S. logistical support, Colombian government forces strafed and bombed the town for over 72 hours. In the attack, three civilians were killed and several others were wounded as the military attacked hospitals, churches, ambulances, and residential areas. FARC rebels were forced to flee the area, and many were killed or wounded. The Colombian government claimed that this was a significant victory, while human rights groups claimed this as proof that "anti-narcotics" aid, was actually just military aid which was being used to fight a leftist insurgency.<ref name="robberson-aid">Tod Robberson, [http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/puertolleras.htm "U.S. aid questioned in Colombian battle"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121090007/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/puertolleras.htm |date=November 21, 2008 }}, ''Dallas Morning News'', August 16, 1999 (accessed: February 27, 2010)</ref>

=== 2000–2006 ===
The years from 2000 to 2006 were bloody ones in Colombia with thousands of deaths every year resulting from the ongoing war between the [[Colombian Armed Forces]], Paramilitary groups such as the [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]] and the rebel groups (mainly the [[FARC]], [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] and also the [[Popular Liberation Army|EPL]]).<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The fighting resulted in massive internal displacement of Colombia's civilian population and thousands of civilian deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=35&regionSelect=5-Southern_Americas|title=Database – Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606082744/http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=35&regionSelect=5-Southern_Americas|archive-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>

During [[Álvaro Uribe|President Uribe's]] first term in office (2002–2006), the security situation inside Colombia showed some measure of improvement and the economy, while still fragile, also showed some positive signs of recovery according to observers{{who|date=February 2017}}. But relatively little has been accomplished in structurally solving most of the country's other grave problems, such as poverty and inequality, possibly in part due to legislative and political conflicts between the administration and the [[Colombian Congress]] (including those over a controversial project to eventually give Uribe the possibility of re-election), and a relative lack of freely allocated funds and credits.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

Some critical observers considered that Uribe's policies, while reducing crime and guerrilla activity, were too slanted in favor of a military solution to Colombia's internal war while neglecting grave social and human rights concerns. Critics have asked for Uribe's government to change this position and make serious efforts towards improving the human rights situation inside the country, protecting civilians and reducing any abuses committed by the armed forces. Political dissenters and labor union members, among others, have suffered from threats and have been murdered. {{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

In 2001 the largest government supported paramilitary group, the [[Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia|AUC]], which had been linked to drug trafficking and attacks on civilians, was added to the US State Department's [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations]] and the [[European Union]] and Canada soon followed suit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm|title=Chapter 6 – Terrorist Organizations|date=April 30, 2007|access-date=July 15, 2007}}</ref> 

On January 17, 2001, right-wing paramilitaries entered the village of Chengue, and divided up the villagers into two groups. They then went from person to person in one of the groups, smashing each person's head with sledgehammers and rocks, killing 24 people, as the Colombian military sat by and watched. Two other bodies were later discovered dumped in a shallow grave. As the paramilitaries left, they set fire to the village.<ref>{{cite book|title=Inside Colombia: drugs, democracy and war |author=Grace Livingstone |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2004| isbn=978-0-8135-3443-5| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cOU0bvG8ZGwC&q=farc+paramilitaries&pg=PR16|page=xvi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/01/28/chronicle-of-a-massacre-foretold/30f6774b-a2fd-4bad-9c8c-b62edb3cb687/|title=Chronicle of a Massacre Foretold|date=January 27, 2001|access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref>

In 2004, it was revealed by the [[National Security Archive]] that a 1991 document from the U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] had described then-Senator Uribe as a "close personal friend" and collaborator of [[Pablo Escobar]]. The Uribe administration denied several of the allegations in the 1991 report.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5570107/site/newsweek|title=A Harsh Light On Associate 82|access-date=July 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015043408/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5570107/site/newsweek|archive-date=October 15, 2007}}</ref>

Starting in 2004 a disarmament process was begun of Colombia's paramilitary groups (especially the AUC) and was completed on April 12, 2006, when 1,700 fighters turned in their weapons in the town of Casibare.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

In May 2006, the [[2006 Colombian presidential election|Colombian presidential election]] resulted in Uribe winning re-election with a historic first round vote tally of 62%, followed by leftist [[Carlos Gaviria]] with 22% and [[Horacio Serpa]].

=== 2007–2009 ===
{{See also|Colombian parapolitics scandal}}

On June 28, 2007, the FARC suddenly reported the death of 11 of the 12 kidnapped provincial deputies from [[Valle del Cauca Department]]. The [[Government of Colombia|Colombian government]] accused the FARC of executing the hostages and stated that government forces had not made any rescue attempts. FARC claimed that the deaths occurred during a crossfire, after an attack to one of its camps by an "unidentified military group".{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} FARC did not report any other casualties on either side.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6251878.stm|title=BBC NEWS – Americas – Colombia rebels 'killed hostages'|publisher=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022045039/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6251878.stm|archive-date=October 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2007, Venezuelan President [[Hugo Chávez]] and [[Senate of Colombia|Colombian Senator]] [[Piedad Córdoba]] were acting as authorised mediators in the ongoing [[humanitarian exchange]] between the FARC and the government of Colombia. Colombian President [[Álvaro Uribe]] had given Chávez permission to mediate, under the conditions that all meetings with the FARC would take place in Venezuela and that Chávez would not contact members of the Colombian military directly, but instead go through proper diplomatic channels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.actualidadcolombiana.org/pdf/dossier_prensa_acuerdo_humanitario_nov27.pdf |title=Dossier de Información—Proceso en Busca del Acuerdo Humanitario Gobierno del Presidente Álvaro Uribe -FARC Noviembre 27 de 2007 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724223518/http://www.actualidadcolombiana.org/pdf/dossier_prensa_acuerdo_humanitario_nov27.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|language=es |url=http://www.canalcaracol.com/noticia_interna.asp?hid_id_menu=77&hid_id=12207 |title=Uribe terminó con mediación de Hugo Chávez |publisher=[[Caracol TV]] |date=November 22, 2007 |access-date=March 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309154013/http://www.canalcaracol.com/noticia_interna.asp?hid_id_menu=77&hid_id=12207 |archive-date=March 9, 2008 }}</ref> However, President Uribe abruptly terminated Chávez's mediation efforts on November 22, 2007, after Chávez personally contacted General [[Mario Montoya Uribe]], the Commander of the Colombian National Army.<ref>{{cite news |language=es |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_7106000/7106863.stm |title=Uribe termina mediación de Chávez |work=BBC News |date=November 22, 2007 |access-date=March 5, 2008 |first=Hernando |last=Salazar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214172133/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_7106000/7106863.stm |archive-date=December 14, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, Chávez said that he was still willing to mediate, but had withdrawn Venezuela's ambassador to Colombia and placed Colombian-Venezuelan relations "in a freezer".<ref>{{cite news |language=es |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/26/elmundo/i-01549435.htm |title=Chávez acusa a Uribe de mentiroso y congela las relaciones con Colombia |publisher=El Clarín |date=November 26, 2007 |access-date=March 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320202100/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/26/elmundo/i-01549435.htm |archive-date=March 20, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> President Uribe responded by accusing Chávez of legitimizing terrorism and pursuing an expansionist project on the continent.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/world/americas/26venez.html|title=Tensions Rise for Colombia and Venezuela|author=Simon Romero|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 26, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213010142/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/world/americas/26venez.html|archive-date=February 13, 2019|url-status=live|author-link=Simon Romero}}</ref>

Several scandals have affected Uribe's administration. The [[Colombian parapolitics scandal]] expanded during his second term, involving numerous members of the administration's ruling coalition. Many pro-government lawmakers, such as the President's cousin Mario Uribe, have been investigated for their possible ties to paramilitary organizations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7029389.stm |work=BBC News |title=Uribe ally quits Colombia Senate |date=October 5, 2007 |access-date=July 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226081915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7029389.stm |archive-date=February 26, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the end of 2007, FARC agreed to release former senator Consuelo González, politician [[Clara Rojas]] and her son Emmanuel, born in captivity after a relationship with one of her captors. [[Operation Emmanuel]] was proposed and set up by Venezuelan President [[Hugo Chávez]], with the permission of the Colombian government. The mission was approved on December 26. However, on December 31, FARC claimed that the hostage release had been delayed because of Colombian military operations. At the same time, Colombian President [[Álvaro Uribe]] indicated that FARC had not freed the three hostages because Emmanuel may not be in their hands anymore.<ref name="BBC_DNA">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7167517.stm |title=Colombia tests 'hostage' boy DNA |work=BBC News |date=January 2, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113080315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7167517.stm |archive-date=November 13, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Two FARC gunmen were taken prisoner. {{citation needed|date= September 2013}}

Colombian authorities added that a boy matching Emmanuel's description had been taken to a hospital in [[San José del Guaviare]] in June 2005. The child was in poor condition; one of his arms was hurt, he had severe malnutrition, and he had diseases that are commonly suffered in the jungle. Having been evidently mistreated, the boy was later sent to a foster home in Bogotá and DNA tests were announced to confirm his identity.<ref name="BBC_DNA"/>

On January 4, 2008, the results of a [[mitochondrial DNA]] test, comparing the child's DNA with that of his potential grandmother Clara de Rojas, were revealed by the Colombian government. It was reported that there was a very high probability that the boy was indeed part of the Rojas family.<ref name="BBC_ColBoy">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7172217.stm |title=Colombia boy may be hostage's son |work=BBC News |date=January 5, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128123059/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7172217.stm |archive-date=January 28, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The same day, FARC released a communique in which they admitted that Emmanuel had been taken to Bogotá and "left in the care of honest persons" for safety reasons until a humanitarian exchange took place. The group accused President Uribe of "kidnapping" the child to sabotage his liberation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7172217.stm |title=Farc admit 'hostage boy' not held |work=BBC News |date=January 5, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128123059/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7172217.stm |archive-date=January 28, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, on January 10, 2008, FARC released Rojas and Gonzalez through a humanitarian commission headed by the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].

On January 13, 2008, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez stated his disapproval with the FARC strategy of armed struggle and kidnapping saying "I don't agree with kidnapping and I don't agree with armed struggle".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1336689820080113 |title=Hugo Chavez tells Colombian rebels to stop kidnapping |publisher=Reuters |access-date=October 18, 2011 |date=January 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210042402/http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1336689820080113 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> He repeated his call for a political solution and an end to the war on March and June 2008, "The guerrilla war is history...At this moment in Latin America, an armed guerrilla movement is out of place".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/chavez-calls-on-colombian-rebels-to-end-struggle-free-hostages |publisher=Fox News |title=Chavez Calls on Colombian Rebels to End Struggle, Free Hostages |date=June 9, 2008 |access-date=April 10, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211083824/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364368,00.html |archive-date=February 11, 2009 }}</ref>

In February 2008, [[FARC]] released four others political hostages "as a gesture of goodwill" toward Chávez, who had brokered the deal and sent Venezuelan helicopters with [[Red Cross]] logos into the Colombian jungle to pick up the freed hostages.<ref>
{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/ts_nm/colombia_hostages_dc |title=Colombian rebels free hostages in jungle to Hugo Chávez |publisher=Yahoo News |agency=Reuters |date=February 27, 2008 |access-date=March 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303040753/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/ts_nm/colombia_hostages_dc |archive-date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>

On March 1, 2008, the [[Military of Colombia|Colombian armed forces]] launched a military operation 1.8 kilometres into [[Ecuador]] on a FARC position, killing 24, including [[Raúl Reyes]], member of the FARC [[FARC-EP Chain of Command#Secretariat|Central High Command]]. This led to the [[2008 Andean diplomatic crisis]] between Colombia and Ecuadorian President [[Rafael Correa]], supported by Venezuelan President [[Hugo Chávez]]. On March 3, [[Iván Ríos]], also a member of the FARC [[FARC-EP Chain of Command#Secretariat|Central High Command]] was killed by his security chief "Rojas". In March 2008 alone, FARC lost 3 members of their Secretariat, including their founder.

On May 24, 2008, Colombian magazine, ''[[Revista Semana]]'', published an interview with Colombian Defense Minister [[Juan Manuel Santos]] in which Santos mentions the death of [[Manuel Marulanda Vélez]]. The news was confirmed by FARC-commander '[[Timoleón Jiménez|Timochenko]]' on Venezuelan based television station Telesur on May 25, 2008. 'Timochenko' announced the new commander in chief is '[[Alfonso Cano]]'.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://colombiareports.com/2008/05/25/farc-admits-death-of-manuel-marandula/ |title=FARC confirm death of 'Manuel Marulanda' |date=May 25, 2008 |publisher=Colombia Reports }} {{Dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In May 2008, a dozen jailed paramilitary leaders were extradited to the United States on drug-related charges. In 2009, extradited paramilitary leader [[Salvatore Mancuso]] would claim that the AUC had supported Uribe's 2002 election, but said that this was a result of their similar "ideological discourse" and not the result of any direct prior arrangement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/4258-auc-supported-uribes-election-mancuso.html |title=AUC supported Uribe's election: Mancuso – Colombia news |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=May 28, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310153836/http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/4258-auc-supported-uribes-election-mancuso.html |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On July 2, 2008, the [[Military of Colombia|Colombian armed forces]] launched [[Operation Jaque]] that resulted in the freedom of 15 political hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate [[Íngrid Betancourt]], [[Marc Gonsalves]], [[Thomas Howes (hostage)|Thomas Howes]], and [[Keith Stansell]], three American military contractors employed by [[Northrop Grumman]]<ref name=CNN>{{cite news |title=Betancourt, U.S. contractors rescued from FARC |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/02/betancourt.colombia/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=July 2, 2008 |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108190643/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/02/betancourt.colombia/index.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 11 Colombian military and police.<ref>{{cite news|title=Betancourt, 14 others freed by Colombian forces |url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1414668.php/Betancourt_14_others_freed_by_Colombian_forces__3rd_Lead_ |publisher=Monsters and Critics |date=July 2, 2008 |access-date=July 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710114339/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1414668.php/Betancourt_14_others_freed_by_Colombian_forces__3rd_Lead_ |archive-date=July 10, 2008 }}</ref> Two FARC members were arrested. This trick to the FARC was presented by the Colombian government as a proof that the guerrilla organisation and influence is declining. {{citation needed|date= September 2013}}

On October 26, 2008, after 8 years of captivity, the ex-congressman [[Óscar Tulio Lizcano]] escaped with the assistance of a FARC rebel he convinced to travel with him. Soon after the liberation of this prominent political hostage, the [[Vice President of Colombia]] [[Francisco Santos Calderón]] called Latin America's biggest guerrilla group a "[[paper tiger]]" with little control of the nation's territory, adding that "they have really been diminished to the point where we can say they are a minimal threat to Colombian security," and that "After six years of going after them, reducing their income and promoting reinsertion of most of their members, they look like a paper tiger." However, he warned against any kind of premature triumphalism, because "crushing the rebels will take time." The {{convert|500000|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} of jungle in Colombia makes it hard to track them down to fight.<ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy |first=Helen |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aCsN3xsYNI0M&refer=latin_america |title=FARC Is a 'Paper Tiger' After Offensive, Desertions (Update1) |publisher=Bloomberg |date=October 29, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626150025/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aCsN3xsYNI0M&refer=latin_america |archive-date=June 26, 2009 }}</ref>

According to the Colombian government, in early 2009 FARC launched plan ''Rebirth'' to avoid being defeated. They planned to intensify [[guerrilla warfare]] by the use of [[landmine]]s, snipers, and bomb attacks in urban areas. They also planned to buy missiles to fight the Colombian Air Force which had highly contributed to their weakness in the past.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/2928-farc-launch-rebirth-plan.html |title=FARC launch 'Rebirth' plan: intelligence – Colombia news |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=February 17, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007032817/http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/2928-farc-launch-rebirth-plan.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011 }}</ref>

In February 2009, the guerrilla released 6 hostages as a humanitarian gesture. In March, they released Swedish hostage Erik Roland Larsson. {{citation needed|date= September 2013}}

In April 2009, the Colombian armed forces launched ''Strategic Leap'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/3445-operation-strategic-leap-to-marginalize-farc-vp.html |title=Operation 'Strategic Leap' to marginalize FARC: VP – Colombia news |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=April 1, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222175014/http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/3445-operation-strategic-leap-to-marginalize-farc-vp.html |archive-date=February 22, 2012 }}</ref> an offensive in border areas where the FARC's forces still has a strong military presence, especially in [[Arauca department|Arauca]], near the Venezuelan border.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/3551-colombia-attacks-rebels-in-border-areas.html |title=Colombia attacks rebels in border areas – Colombia news |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=April 10, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222175031/http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/3551-colombia-attacks-rebels-in-border-areas.html |archive-date=February 22, 2012 }}</ref>

In November 2009, Nine Colombian soldiers were killed when their post was attacked by FARC guerrillas in a southwestern part of the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/americasCrisis/idUSN10325738 |work=Reuters |title=Surprising rebel attack kills 9 Colombian soldiers |first=Hugh |last=Bronstein |date=November 10, 2009 |access-date=June 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117184233/http://www.reuters.com/article/americasCrisis/idUSN10325738 |archive-date=November 17, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On December 22, 2009, FARC rebels raided the home of Provincial governor [[Luis Francisco Cuéllar]], killing one police officer and wounding two. Cuellar was found dead the following day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-23-la-fg-colombia-kidnap23-2009dec23-story.html|title=Abducted Colombia governor found dead|last=Kraul|first=Chris|date=December 23, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012035706/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/23/world/la-fg-colombia-kidnap23-2009dec23|archive-date=October 12, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 2010–2016 ===
{{See also|List of attacks attributed to FARC|Colombian peace process}}
On January 1, 2010, 18 FARC rebels were killed when the [[Colombian Air Force]] bombed a jungle camp in Southern Colombia. Colombian troops of the elite Task Force Omega then stormed the camp, capturing 15 FARC rebels, as well as 25 rifles, war materials, explosives, and information which was given to military intelligence. In Southwestern Colombia, FARC rebels ambushed an army patrol, killing a soldier. The troops then exchanged fire with the rebels. During the fighting, a teenager was killed in the crossfire.<ref name="english.aljazeera.net">http://www.english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/20101123513156705.html {{Dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref>

When [[Juan Manuel Santos]] was elected president in August 2010, he promised to "continue the armed offensive" against rebel movements. In the month after his inauguration, FARC and ELN killed roughly 50 soldiers and policemen in attacks all over Colombia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/colombia-rebels-idAFN1025921520100910|title=Colombian rebel attacks intensify, dozens killed &#124; Energy & Oil &#124; Reuters|publisher=Reuters|date=September 10, 2010|access-date=October 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313042213/http://www.reuters.com/article/colombia-rebels-idAFN1025921520100910|archive-date=March 13, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> September also saw the killing of FARC's second-in-command Mono Jojoy. By the end of 2010, it became increasingly clear that "neo-paramilitary groups", referred to as "criminal groups" (BACRIM) by the government, had become an increasing threat to national security, with violent groups such as [[Los Rastrojos]] and [[Aguilas Negras]] taking control of large parts of the Colombian countryside.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDermott |first=Jeremy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12804418 |title=Colombia's criminal bands pose new security challenge |work=BBC News |date=April 25, 2011 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103201209/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12804418 |archive-date=November 3, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, the FARC killed at least 460 members of the security forces, while wounding more than 2,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.com.py/nota/cerca-de-460-militares-y-policias-murieron-en-combates-en-colombia-en-2010/|title=En 2010, unos 460 militares y policias murieron en combates en Colombia|publisher=[[ABC Color]]|access-date=October 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227084044/http://www.abc.com.py/nota/cerca-de-460-militares-y-policias-murieron-en-combates-en-colombia-en-2010/|archive-date=December 27, 2010}}</ref>

By early 2011, Colombian authorities and news media reported that the FARC and the clandestine sister groups have partly shifted strategy from guerrilla warfare to "a war of militias", meaning that they are increasingly operating in civilian clothes while hiding amongst sympathizers in the civilian population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/BancoConocimiento/M/milicias_el_plan_pistola_en_el_cauca/milicias_el_plan_pistola_en_el_cauca.asp |title=Milicias, el plan pistola en el Cauca |date=April 9, 2011 |publisher=El Colombiano |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830145638/http://www.elcolombiano.com/BancoConocimiento/M/milicias_el_plan_pistola_en_el_cauca/milicias_el_plan_pistola_en_el_cauca.asp |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> In early January 2011, the Colombian army said that the FARC has some 18,000 members, with 9,000 of those forming part of the militias.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enlatino.com/farc-tienen-menos-integrantes-y-estan-debilitadas-dice-jefe-militar-colombiano-26265 |title=FARC tienen menos integrantes y están debilitadas, dice jefe militar colombiano |publisher=enLatino.com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313022958/http://www.enlatino.com/farc-tienen-menos-integrantes-y-estan-debilitadas-dice-jefe-militar-colombiano-26265 |archive-date=March 13, 2012 }}</ref> The army says it has "identified" at least 1,400 such militia members in the FARC-strongholds of [[Valle del Cauca]] and [[Cauca Department|Cauca]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/09-04-11/fuerzas-militares-tienen-identificados-1410-milicianos-de-las-farc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413180917/http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/09-04-11/fuerzas-militares-tienen-identificados-1410-milicianos-de-las-farc |archive-date=April 13, 2011 |title=Fuerzas Militares tienen identificados a 1410 milicianos de Las Farc &#124; RCN La Radio |publisher=RCN Radio |access-date=October 18, 2011 }}</ref> In June 2011, Colombian chief of staff Edgar Cely claimed that the FARC wants to "urbanize their actions",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-9547384.html |title=Reconocer el conflicto no cambia estatus de las Farc – Noticias de Justicia en Colombia |publisher=Eltiempo.Com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111145800/http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-9547384.html |archive-date=January 11, 2012 }}</ref> which could partly explain the increased guerrilla activity in Medellín and particularly Cali.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1482785 |title=Acción propagandística de las Farc en Medellín – 20110602 |publisher=Caracol.com.co |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101215555/http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1482785 |archive-date=January 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1481191 |title=Asesinan a dos candidatos a la alcaldía de Campamento en Antioquia – 20110530 |publisher=Caracol.com.co |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101165908/http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1481191 |archive-date=January 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1479711 |title=Las Farc amenazan a la senadora antioqueña Liliana Rendón – 20110527 |publisher=Caracol.com.co |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101172840/http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1479711 |archive-date=January 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/articulo-272781-hallan-caleta-213-minas-de-farc-cali |title=Hallan caleta con 213 minas de las Farc en Cali |publisher=Elespectador.Com |date=May 26, 2011 |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111171237/http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/articulo-272781-hallan-caleta-213-minas-de-farc-cali |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/policia-dice-que-farc-preparaban-atentado-en-cali_8995482-4 |title=Atentados de las Farc en el Valle – Noticias de Justicia en Colombia |publisher=Eltiempo.Com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111145950/http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/policia-dice-que-farc-preparaban-atentado-en-cali_8995482-4 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 }}</ref> Jeremy McDermott, co-director of Insight Crime, estimates that FARC may have some 30,000 "part-time fighters" in 2011, consisting of supporters making up the rebel militia network instead of armed uniformed combatants.<ref name="Time World">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2082791,00.html |title=Colombia's Guerrillas: The Rebellion That Would Not Die |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=John |last=Otis |date=July 16, 2011 |access-date=May 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823224516/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2082791,00.html |archive-date=August 23, 2013 }}</ref>

In 2011, the Colombian Congress issued a statement claiming that the FARC has a "strong presence" in roughly one third of Colombia, while their attacks against security forces "have continued to rise" throughout 2010 and 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://elespectador.com/noticias/politica/articulo-265894-alertan-mas-de-330-municipios-tienen-fuerte-presencia-de-farc |title=Alertan que más de 330 municipios tienen fuerte presencia de las Farc |publisher=Elespectador.Com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930151055/http://elespectador.com/noticias/politica/articulo-265894-alertan-mas-de-330-municipios-tienen-fuerte-presencia-de-farc |archive-date=September 30, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2012, the Colombia Military launched The Espada de Honor War Plan, an aggressive counterinsurgency strategies that aims to dismantle FARC's structure, crippling them both militarily and financially. The plan targets FARC leadership and it is focused on eliminating 15 of the most powerful economic and military fronts.<ref>[http://interamericansecuritywatch.com/colombias-new-counterinsurgency-plan/ "Colombia's New Counterinsurgency Plan".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616222423/http://interamericansecuritywatch.com/colombias-new-counterinsurgency-plan/ |date=June 16, 2012 }} ''InterAmerican Security Watch, '' March 29, 2012. Retrieved: June 8, 2012.</ref>

On July 20, 2013, as peace talks were making progress, [[2013 Colombian clashes|two rebel attacks]] on government positions killed 19 soldiers and an unspecified number of combatants. It was the deadliest day since peace talks began in November 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Colombian soldiers die in clashes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23394408|access-date=July 22, 2013|date=July 21, 2013|work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723223726/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23394408|archive-date=July 23, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 15, 2014, 9 FARC guerrillas were killed in the aftermath airstrikes conducted by the Colombian air force in the Meta province.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nine FARC members killed by army raid in Colombian jungle|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-farc-idUSKBN0JU0BW20141216|access-date=December 16, 2014|date=December 16, 2014|publisher=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216215643/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/16/us-colombia-farc-idUSKBN0JU0BW20141216|archive-date=December 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 22, 2015, the FARC suspended a truce after 26 of its fighters were killed in a government air and ground offensive.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32846164|title=Farc suspends truce after Colombia army attack|publisher=BBC|date=May 22, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927165741/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32846164|archive-date=September 27, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 22, 2015, a Colombian Army Black Hawk helicopter was destroyed while landing on a mine field laid by FARC: four soldiers were killed and six were wounded.

On June 23, 2016, the Colombian government and FARC agreed to a ceasefire.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36611952|title=Colombia and Farc rebels sign historic ceasefire|work=BBC News|date=June 23, 2016|access-date=June 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623181047/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36611952|archive-date=June 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Colombian peace process|A "final, full and definitive accord" was agreed to on August 24, 2016]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Colombians celebrate as peace deal is reached with Farc rebels|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37180752|work=BBC News|date=August 25, 2016|access-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825045217/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37180752|archive-date=August 25, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> This accord does not include ELN.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/denuncian-presencia-de-disidentes-de-las-farc-en-parque-natural/16703571|title=Denuncian presencia de disidentes de las Farc en parque natural. Serían guerrilleros del frente primero, que no se acogieron el acuerdo de paz.|date=September 16, 2016|publisher=El Tiempo|access-date=September 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917133339/http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/denuncian-presencia-de-disidentes-de-las-farc-en-parque-natural/16703571|archive-date=September 17, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 2, 2016, the results of the referendum to decide whether or not to support the peace accord showed that 50.2% opposed the accord while 49.8% favoured it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/a-look-at-colombias-half-century-long-rebel-conflict-3062564/|title=A look at Colombia's half-century-long rebel conflict|date=October 3, 2016|access-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011234410/http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/a-look-at-colombias-half-century-long-rebel-conflict-3062564/|archive-date=October 11, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2016, President [[Juan Manuel Santos]] was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long war to an end.<ref name="auto"/>

The Colombian government and the FARC on November 24 signed a revised [[Colombian peace process|peace deal]] and the revised agreement will be submitted to Congress for approval.<ref name="BBC News"/> The House of Representatives unanimously approved the plan on November 30, a day after the Senate also gave its backing.<ref name="Washington Post"/>

=== 2017–2019 ===
{{see also|Catatumbo campaign}}
In September 2019, Colombia's President Iván Duque Márquez launched a new military crackdown against FARC, which declared resuming the armed struggle due to the government's failure to abide by the 2016 peace deal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/09/07/colo-s07.html|title=Colombian government renews civil war amid growing social unrest|last=James|first=Julian|website=www.wsws.org|date=September 7, 2019 |language=en|access-date=September 12, 2019}}</ref>

=== 2020–present ===
{{see also|Catatumbo campaign}}

On April 25, senior [[Clan del Golfo|Gulf Cartel]] (Clan de Golfo) leader Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Téllez, who was one of Colombia's most wanted drug lords, with a 580 million peso bounty for his capture, was arrested at his lavish estate in Cereté while holding a party under quarantine during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.elheraldo.co/region-caribe/por-una-fiesta-en-cerete-ubicaron-supuesto-capo-del-narcotrafico-721011&prev=search|title=Google Translate|website=translate.google.com|date=April 25, 2020 }}</ref><ref name=braincaught>{{Cite web|url=https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/a/1507820.html|title=Arrested: Illegal quarantine party reveals Colombian druglord's hideout|website=today.rtl.lu}}</ref> Álvarez was described as the "brain" of the cartel,<ref name=braincaught /> and by this point was reported to have taken charge of the cartel's Caribbean operations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caracol.com.co/emisora/2020/04/26/monteria/1587852736_119612.html|title=En Cereté capturan a alias Tavo, uno de los narcos más buscados del país|first=Caracol|last=Radio|date=April 26, 2020|website=Caracol Radio}}</ref>

On June 26, Clan del Golfo and FARC dissidents were confirmed be in a direct armed conflict in northern Antioquia known as ''Operation Mil.''<ref name=farcclanwar>{{Cite web|url=https://caracol.com.co/emisora/2020/06/27/medellin/1593219073_729114.html|title=Disidencias despliegan "comando antiparamilitar" en el norte de Antioquia|first=Caracol Radio|last=Medellín|date=June 27, 2020|website=Caracol Radio}}</ref> The Gulf Clan, which dispatched 1,000 of its paramilitaries from Urabá, southern Córdoba and Chocó, hopes to suppress FARC rebels in northern Antioquia and take control of the entire municipality of Ituango.<ref name=farcclanwar />

On January 2, 2022, an [[2022 Arauca clashes|internal fight]] occurred between the ELN and FARC dissidents in Arauca, leaving 23 people dead.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fighting Intensifies in Eastern Colombia; at Least 23 Killed|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/fighting-intensifies-in-eastern-colombia-at-least-23-killed-/6380862.html|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=VOA|date=January 3, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

On June 9, 2023, the Colombian government and ELN signed a six month nationwide ceasefire, to go into effect on August 3. This came after months of peace talks in Havana.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--not stated-->|date=June 9, 2023|title=Colombia and ELN rebel group sign ceasefire agreement|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/9/colombia-and-eln-rebel-group-sign-ceasefire-agreement|work=Al Jazeera|location=Havana, Cuba|access-date=June 9, 2023}}</ref>

On January 19, 2025, ELN and FARC forces erupted into [[2025 Catatumbo clashes|combat]] in the Catatumbo region. Around 80 people have been killed, while thousands of residents have fled the violence. Many schools and sports stadiums have been converted into refugee shelters. Colombia has deployed 5,000 soldiers in an attempt to restore peace.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-22 |title=Colombian rebel violence: Soldiers deployed to Catatumbo |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vd7njv4zzo |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Impacts ==
=== Economic impact ===

==== Direct economic effects ====
{{Empty section|date=August 2024}}

===== Physical infrastructure =====
The destruction of physical infrastructure has represented high costs for several sectors of the economy, directly altering production and distribution networks. The costs generated by damage to the oil infrastructure have shown a substantial increase since 1990. This is mainly explained by the increase in attacks on oil pipelines by groups outside the law. According to data from [[Ecopetrol]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Borrego |first1=M. E. P. |last2=Ballen |first2=A. V. |last3=Percipiano |first3=Y. L.|date=2005|title=Costos Generados por la violencia armada en Colombia|journal=Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> between 1999 and 2003, the costs assumed by the hydrocarbon exploitation sector grew by approximately 59%, amounting to $817,654.5 million. This equates to 23.6% of the total royalties that [[Ecopetrol]] turned to 20 departments and 110 municipalities, destined to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ecopetrol.como.co/especiales/informe_anual2003/images/informer-anual-esp-alta-72.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824181548/http://www.ecopetrol.como.co/especiales/informe_anual2003/images/informer-anual-esp-alta-72.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2024|title=Informe Anual 2003|website=Ecopetrol}} </ref> For 2004, costs decreased substantially to $11,015.5&nbsp;million. This is the first sector most affected by the terrorist actions of groups outside the law. The costs are mainly derived from the spilled oil, "[...] from the repair of the pipeline, from the environmental decontamination and from the oil stopped producing 60% of the total expenses incurred."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Granada y Rojas|date=1995|title=Los Costos Economicos del Conflicto armado en Colombia: 1990–1994|journal=Archivos de Macroeconomia. Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> During the 1999–2003 period, costs against electrical and telecommunications towers increased substantially, representing $134,871.2&nbsp;million. This is equivalent to 5.4% of 2003 GDP for the electricity, gas and water sector.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Otero, D.|date=2007|title=Las Cifras del Conflicto Colombiano|journal=Instituto de Estudios Para el Desarrollo y la Paz}}</ref> On the other hand, according to data from the National Institute of Roads ([[INVÍAS]]), between 1993 and 1995, groups outside the law demolished 11 tolls and a bridge, and its reconstruction cost $378,476,248. This amount increased significantly during the 1999–2003 period, when the costs generated by the reconstruction of bridges represented $18,455.7&nbsp;million. These costs are equivalent to 1.71% of the total INVÍAS budget for 2003. For 2004, costs for damages to the road infrastructure dropped substantially to $680&nbsp;million.<ref name=":0" /> The partial interruption of the roads directly affects the transport sector, food and other private guilds, which in turn assume costs for these damages. However, generally these have not been quantified, because of the difficulty they have to be directly calculated. This tends to present itself as a generalized problem in quantifying the costs associated with conflict. This is explained, in part, by the tendency in the various economic sectors not to denounce this type of actions that, in one way or another, interrupt the normal functioning of economic activities.

===== Kidnapping and extortion ransoms=====
[[Colombia]] is the country in which more people are and have been kidnapped.<ref name=":0" />{{clarify |date=January 2020 |reason=More than? Or most?}} Kidnapping, as one of the manifestations that underlie the armed conflict, carries both direct and indirect costs. The former consist mainly of the payment of ransoms and the expenses assumed by the State to control and prevent it. Indirect costs include, "[...] the loss of human capital for the duration of the detention and for the death of the kidnapped during his captivity".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Pinto |last2=Vergara |last3=Lahuerta|date=2004|title=Costos generados por la violencia armada en Colombia: 1999–2003|journal=Archivos de Macroeconomia: Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> There are two types of kidnapping: a) kidnapping for extortion and political purposes; and b) simple kidnapping. According to data from the Directorate of Justice and Security of the DNP, this phenomenon shows an increasing trend. With respect to the costs of sequestration, the sources suggest an increasing behavior between 1996 and 2003. In such a way that "the average annual growth rate is 9.3%, the highest rate is observed in 1998 (46.2%), and in 2000 (37.2%) year in which the number of kidnappings also it is significantly high [...] reaching its peak in the year 2000 with 1,938 cases."<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Pinto, M. I. Altamae |author2=Y. Lahuerta |author3=L. Cepeda|date=2004|title=El secuestro en Colombia caracterizacion y costos economicos|journal=Archivos de Economia: Documento 257, Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> From then on, the trend becomes decreasing (except for a peak in 2002 with 1,542 cases) until reaching the 350 kidnappings (the lowest figure since 1996) in 2005. Within these costs, 64.4% are direct, representing US$167.4 million. 35.6% of the remaining costs are indirect, and represent US$92.7 million. In 2004, the costs of sequestration were reduced to $109,519 million, representing 0.27% of GDP in 2003.<ref name=":0" />

===== Costs related to defense and national security =====
While spending on defense and security becomes very important to examine when dealing with a country immersed in an armed conflict, the analysis on this issue are relatively recent.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Urrutia, N.|date=2004|title=El gasto en defensa y seguridad: caracterizacion del caso colombiano en el contexto internacional.|journal=Archivos de Economia, Documento 249, Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> This can be explained because until the beginning of the second half of the nineties, defense and security spending had a significant growth. Spending on defense and security includes, on the one hand, the means by which the State must have to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity, and on the other, the costs involved in maintaining internal security. Various studies of National Planning suggest that the Colombian State spends a much greater percentage in defense and security than other Latin American countries. Between 1991 and 1996, the estimated value of these resources was $3.7&nbsp;billion. That is, 2.6% of GDP, while for Latin America the average of this expenditure was 1.7% of GDP.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Trujillo |first=C |author2=M. Badel|date=1998|title=Los Costos Economicos de la criminalidad y la violencia en Colombia: 1991–1996|journal=Archivos de Macroeconomia, Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> A study carried out by the [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] (SIPRI) for the year 2001 "[...] shows that Colombia ranked 24th in the countries with the largest participation in military spending, out of a total of 116 investigated."The figure for the participation of military expenditures in GDP was 3.8% for Colombia while in the countries of the American continent the closest figure is that of the United States with 3.1% followed by Chile with 2.9%, Ecuador with 2.1% and the rest of countries below 2.0% ".<ref name=":0" /> Thus, for the period 1999–2003, defense and security spending was $8,463,611.0 million, equivalent to 10.5% of GDP in 2003. The excess of said expense, compared to the average cost of neighboring countries, It was close to 0.79% of GDP. A Fedesarrollo study states that the Spending on defense and security carried out during 2004 "[...] represented 4.5% of GDP [...] "<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cardenas |first=M. |author2=X. Cadena |author3=C. Caballero|date=2005|title=El Incremento en el gasto en defensa y seguridad: resultados y sostenibilidad de la estrategia|journal=Sostenibilidad de la Seguridad Democratica. Fundacion Seguridad y Democracia.}}</ref> which does not have precedents in the history of [[Colombia]]. This is directly related to the [[:es:Política de seguridad democrática|Security Policy Democratic]] undertaken by the government of the current president [[Álvaro Uribe]], who focuses on hitting militarily to groups outside the law, in order to regain security national. On the other hand, for the year 2004, the expenses of the Colombian Government in war and security were 6.59%, placing the country between the tenth that invest the most in war as proportion of GDP .<ref name=":0" />

==== Indirect economic effects ====

===== Productivity loss =====
The estimated loss of human capital and productivity due to labor absenteeism in 2003 amounted to $366.2&nbsp;billion.<ref name=":1" /> On the other hand, the loss of land productivity, which translates into a negative impact on administration, investment in physical and social capital, and the price of land in subsectors such as livestock and commercial agriculture is one of the consequences associated with the presence of an armed conflict.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Echandia |first=C|date=1997|title=Expansion territorial de la guerrilla colombiana: geografia, economia y violencia|journal=Programa de Estudios Sobre Seguridad, Justicia y Violencia. Universidad de los Andes}}</ref> This cost is mainly assumed by farmers who experience the pressure of armed actions in their areas of operation. Within this context, the most serious consequences are related to the devaluation of the properties, the loss of productivity of the land -represented in the products that could potentially have been cultivated in these lands- and the difficulty in managing the efficient production of the lands. According to a study of National Planning, the estimated costs for the loss of productivity of land represented, between 1999 and 2003, $140,443.5 million,<ref name=":1" /> equivalent to 1.28% of the GDP of the agricultural sector of 2003.

===== Impact on income distribution =====
The duration and expansion of the national conflict has had a significant impact on the distribution of income and wealth in Colombia. According to an investigation by the CEDE of the [[University of Los Andes (Colombia)|Universidad de los Andes]], "as a result of the displacement, the displaced households have left behind a little more than four million hectares, which correspond to 6.7 times of the total hectares granted by the program. of Agrarian Reform during the period between 1993 and 2000, and represent a total value of $ 2.6 billion."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ibanez |first=A. |author2=A. Moya |author3=A. Velasquez|date=2006|title=Hacia una politica proactiva de la poblacion desplazada|journal=Universidad de los Andes, Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social Caritas Colombia}}</ref> In this context, the enormous concentration of rural property in the hands of a few individuals is not only the result of the purchase of land by drug traffickers and the illegal appropriation by groups outside the law, but also the consequence of acquisition of properties devalued due to the armed conflict [...]. It is estimated that 1.3% of the owners control 48% of the best lands.<ref name=":3" /> On the other hand, a study carried out by the [[United Nations Development Programme|United Nations Development Program]] (UNDP) states that the Colombian conflict has had a negative effect on the income of the population. According to this study, because of the conflict, Colombia has lost 17% of its per capita income in the last ten years. That is to say, "[...] the money wasted every year corresponds to about 4.6 times what the community welfare homes programs, children's homes and school restaurants of the social support network cos."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo|date=2003|title=El conflicto, callejon con salida: informe nacional de desarrollo humano para Colombia|journal=PNUD }}</ref>

===== Decrease in investments =====
Although the agents adjust their investment behavior, that is, they internalize the phenomenon of violence, assuming it as a change in the structures of the economy<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Echeverry |first=J. |author2=N. Salazar |author3=V. Navas|date=2001|title=Nos parecemos al resto del mundo? El conflicto Colombiano en el contexto internacional.|journal=Archivos de Macroeconomia, Documento 143, Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> in the long term the investment of both the State and the private sector is diminished in substantial ways. In the Colombian case, the loss in private investment has been estimated at 0.53 points of the annual GDP, due to the public order conditions that arise directly from the presence of an armed conflict. A 1% increase in the homicide rate reduces private investment by 0.66%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Parra |first=C.|date=1998|title=Determinantes de la Inversion en Colombia: evidencia sobre el capital humano y la violencia|journal=Planeacion y Desarrollo|volume=84|pages=1–31}}</ref> Thus, we can observe that the high levels of violence directly affect the transaction costs and levels of uncertainty in society. Likewise, they reduce to a certain degree the profitability of investments. A study by Corporación Invertir en Colombia (Coinvertir) and the National Planning Department (DNP) shows that insecurity hinders the development of new foreign investments, especially in the financial, oil and gas, and electric power sectors.

One of the biggest problems to invest in Colombia is that it is necessary to devote a large part of the budget to security and protection controls, which is very difficult to justify before the house. In this sense, the economic environment affected by the violence translates into a tax on investment."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Echeverry |first=J. |author2=N. Salazar |author3=V. Navas |date=2001|title=Nos parecemos al resto del mundo? El conflicto colombiano en el contexto internacional|journal=Archivos de Macroeconomia, Documento 143, Departamento Nacional de Planeacion}}</ref> On the other hand, within the studies on the costs of the conflict, specific sectors such as the private sector have begun to be studied, taking into account the high costs they have had to assume due to the existence of this phenomenon. The large companies and those that operate at the national level assume the highest costs associated with the existence of the conflict. This is because they are more attractive for someone who wants to extort for example, and also those who lose most in adverse conditions. Appealing to the economic arguments that underlie the conflict, various state and international aid and cooperation institutions seek to establish the scope and potential benefits of a peaceful situation. This argument has mobilized and sensitized various sectors of society to understand that peace is also an economic necessity.<ref name=":4" /> In Colombia, as shown in the studies that have estimated the costs of the conflict, since the nineties it has imposed increasingly higher costs to various productive sectors of the economy and society in general.<ref name=":0" />

Among the sectors most affected by the conflict are the exploitation of hydrocarbons, electricity and livestock. This is explained, in part, because the areas where the operations and activities of these sectors take place, in parallel, are the territories where groups outside the law exert a very strong presence. Likewise, for the Colombian private sector, indirect costs have more impact on their activities than direct costs. With respect to indirect costs, although there is a clear difficulty to be quantified, the various studies suggest that they have been significantly high and that they have had a representative impact on society as such.

=== Increase in illegal drug trafficking ===
The drug trafficking sales have gone up in Colombia since the 1970s due to the conflict. Many Mexican [[drug cartels]] have been spotted to operate in the area including the [[Sinaloa Cartel]], [[Gulf Cartel]], [[Beltrán Leyva Cartel]], [[CJNG]], and [[Los Zetas]]. The [[Medellín Cartel]] and [[Cali Cartel]] were the first drug trafficking organizations in Colombia and had alliances with the [[Guadalajara Cartel]], [[Milenio Cartel|Los Valencia Organization]], and [[Colima Cartel|Amezcua Cartel]].

=== Use of land mines during the conflict ===
Since 1990, over 11,000 people have been killed or wounded by [[landmines]] in Colombia.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31831002 |title=Natalio Cosoy, "Clearing Colombia of landmines," ''BBC Mundo,'' Bogota, 14 March 2015 |work=BBC News |date=March 14, 2015 |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622164541/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31831002 |archive-date=June 22, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/0130/Removing-Colombia-s-landmines-one-by-one|title=Removing Colombia's landmines, one by one|date=January 30, 2013|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018094155/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/0130/Removing-Colombia-s-landmines-one-by-one|archive-date=October 18, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1982 and the end of 2012, 2,038 people have been killed by landmines, according to the Presidential Program for Mine Action.<ref name=autogenerated4 /> Since 2000, casualties from landmines in Colombia have ranged from 1,300 a year to just around 550.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2523|title=Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor|publisher=The-monitor.org|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519062000/http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2523|archive-date=May 19, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the past, the Colombian government laid landmines around 34 military bases to protect key infrastructure, but it renounced their use in 1997. Landmines are primarily used by the rebel groups to protect their home bases and illegal drug crops, which fund the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jmu.edu/cisr/journal/13.1/profiles/colombia/colombia.shtml |title=Leah Young, "Colombia," ''Journal of ERW and Mine Action,'' Issue 13.1, Summer 2009. |access-date=June 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001051304/http://www.jmu.edu/cisr/journal/13.1/profiles/colombia/colombia.shtml |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> FARC and ELN have deployed antipersonnel mines throughout an estimated area of up to 100 square kilometers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/landmines-killing-colombians-lend-leg-support-victims/story?id=18870182|title=Landmines Are Killing Colombians, "Lend Your Leg" to Support Victims – ABC News|work=ABC News|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022122927/https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/landmines-killing-colombians-lend-leg-support-victims/story?id=18870182|archive-date=October 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2015, FARC stated that it would begin humanitarian demining in selected parts of Colombia.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}

=== FARC's rebel diplomacy ===
The [[Far-left politics|far-left]] guerrilla group [[FARC|Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]] (FARC), was one of the most powerful violent groups with which the Colombian government had to deal during the [[Colombian Conflict]]. They gained so much strength and influence that they started to look for mechanisms that helped them grow even stronger. In that sense, they developed a "Rebel Diplomacy", understood as a rebel group's conduct of foreign affairs during the development civil war for the purpose of advancing its military and political objective.<ref>Bos, M., & Melissen, J. (2019). Rebel diplomacy and digital communication: Public diplomacy in the Sahel. International Affairs (London), 95(''6''), 1331-1348.</ref> This diplomacy was used as a strategy that they engaged with various international actors in the seek for any type of support during different stages of the conflict. Among these international actors we can find other countries governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations.

The guerrilla made intelligent and strategic use of social networks, using them as a means through which to offer the international public witnessing the conflict a vision of their own narrative of the conflict and to present themselves as a credible and preferable alternative to the Colombian government. In this way, the FARC designed a web page and obtained support from press agencies and independent digital media, mostly European.<ref>Jones, B., & Mattiacci, E. (2017). A manifesto, in 140 characters or fewer: Social media as a tool of rebel diplomacy. British Journal of Political Science, p. 1-23. https:// doi.org/10.1017/S0007123416000612</ref>

Rebel diplomacy often emerges as a kind of counter diplomacy aimed at discrediting the State against which the insurgent group is fighting, it is a way of taking the battle to the political arena and waging it in the international arena.<ref>Huang, R. (2016). Rebel diplomacy in civil war. International Security, vol. 40, n.° 4, p. 89-126. https:// doi.org/10.1162/ISEC_a_00237</ref> This occurred in the case of the FARC, which beyond defending its political proposal and ideology, its international discourse focused on a frontal attack on the Government.

=== Emergence of FARC dissidents ===
{{Main|FARC dissidents}}
[[FARC dissidents]] are a group formerly part of the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]], who have refused to lay down their arms after the FARC-government peace treaty came into effect in 2016. The dissidents number some 1200 armed combatants<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.elpais.com.co/judicial/disidencias-de-las-farc-un-blanco-cada-vez-mas-grande-para-las-fuerzas-armadas.html|title=Disidencias de las Farc, un 'blanco' cada vez más grande para las Fuerzas Armadas|first=Casa Editorial El País|last=Cali|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614101619/http://www.elpais.com.co/judicial/disidencias-de-las-farc-un-blanco-cada-vez-mas-grande-para-las-fuerzas-armadas.html|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/disidencias-de-las-farc-contarian-con-1200-hombres-articulo-745490|title=Disidencias de las Farc contarían con 1.200 hombres - ELESPECTADOR.COM|date=March 20, 2018|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614100550/https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/disidencias-de-las-farc-contarian-con-1200-hombres-articulo-745490|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with an unknown number of civilian militia supporting them. The FARC dissidents have become "an increasing headache" for the Colombian armed forces, as they have to fight them, the [[Ejército Popular de Liberación|EPL]], [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] and [[Clan del Golfo]] at the same time.<ref name="auto1"/> FARC dissidents are led by former mid-level commanders such as alias Gentil Duarte, alias Euclides Mora, alias John 40, alias Giovanny Chuspas and alias Julián Chollo. The FARC dissidents have been responsible for several attacks on the Colombian armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2018/01/18/un-ataque-perpetrado-por-disidentes-de-las-farc-dejo-a-6-policias-heridos-en-colombia/|title=Un ataque perpetrado por disidentes de las FARC dejó a 6 policías heridos en Colombia|date=January 18, 2018 |access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614094930/https://www.infobae.com/america/colombia/2018/01/18/un-ataque-perpetrado-por-disidentes-de-las-farc-dejo-a-6-policias-heridos-en-colombia/|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://noticias.caracoltv.com/colombia/policia-murio-en-ataque-atribuido-disidencia-de-farc-en-meta|title=Policía murió en ataque atribuido a disidencia de FARC en Meta – Noticias Caracol|date=February 25, 2018|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617192749/https://noticias.caracoltv.com/colombia/policia-murio-en-ataque-atribuido-disidencia-de-farc-en-meta|archive-date=June 17, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prensa.com/mundo/policias-muertos-ataque-disidencia-FARC_0_4976502372.html|title=Dos policías muertos en ataque donde opera disidencia de las FARC|date=March 4, 2018|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614095222/https://www.prensa.com/mundo/policias-muertos-ataque-disidencia-FARC_0_4976502372.html|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> These fighters are believed to be heavily involved in the production and sale of cocaine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/la-historia-de-gentil-duarte-el-disidente-de-las-farc-mas-buscado-del-pais-articulo-747661|title=La historia de "Gentil Duarte", el disidente de las Farc más buscado del país - ELESPECTADOR.COM|date=April 2, 2018|access-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920064955/https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/la-historia-de-gentil-duarte-el-disidente-de-las-farc-mas-buscado-del-pais-articulo-747661|archive-date=September 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Dissidents of FARC's 1st Front are located in the eastern plains of Colombia. Jhon 40 and their dissident 43rd Front moved into the [[Amazonas (Venezuelan state)|Amazonas state]] of western Venezuela. [[Venezuela]] has served as the primary location for many FARC dissidents.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=Venezuela: A Mafia State?|publisher=[[InSight Crime]]|year=2018|location=[[Medellin, Colombia]]|pages=3–84}}</ref> On July 15, 2018, the Colombian and Peruvian governments launched a joint military effort known as Operation Armageddon to combat FARC dissidents. [[Peru]] issued a 60-day state of emergency in the [[Putumayo Province]], an area bordering both Colombia and Ecuador. On the first day alone, more than 50 individuals were arrested in the operation, while four cocaine labs were dismantled. The group has attempted to recruit locals in the [[Putumayo Province]] in Peru to take up their cause.<ref name="REUTperu18">{{cite news |title=Peru arrests more than 50 in anti-drug bust at Colombian border |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-colombia-drug-trafficking/peru-arrests-more-than-50-in-anti-drug-bust-at-colombian-border-idUSKBN1K704T |access-date=July 18, 2018 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=July 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717223931/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-colombia-drug-trafficking/peru-arrests-more-than-50-in-anti-drug-bust-at-colombian-border-idUSKBN1K704T |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On July 28, 2019, during the XXV [[São Paulo Forum]] hosted in [[Caracas]], [[Nicolás Maduro]] declared that the FARC-EP dissidents leaders [[Iván Márquez]] and [[Jesús Santrich]] were "welcome" in Venezuela and to the São Paulo Forum.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 28, 2019|title=Maduro dice que Iván Márquez y Jesús Santrich "son bienvenidos" a Venezuela|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20190729/463744522312/maduro-dice-que-ivan-marquez-y-jesus-santrich-son-bienvenidos-a-venezuela.html|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=[[La Vanguardia]]|language=es}}</ref>

== Role of the United States ==
{{See also|Plan Colombia|Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia|Colombia–United States relations}}
[[File:William P. Yarborough2.jpg|thumb|left|US General [[William P. Yarborough]] was the head of a counterinsurgency team sent to Colombia in 1962 by the US Special Warfare Center. Yarborough was one of the earliest proponents of ''"paramilitary [...] and/or [[terrorism|terrorist]] activities against known communist proponents"<ref>{{cite journal|first=Dennis M. |last=Rempe |date=Winter 1995 |title=Guerrillas, Bandits, and Independent Republics: US Counter-insurgency Efforts in Colombia 1959–1965 |journal=Small Wars and Insurgencies |volume=6 |issue=3|pages=304–327 |url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/smallwars.htm |doi=10.1080/09592319508423115|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330101500/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/smallwars.htm|archive-date=March 30, 2010 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>''.]]

The United States has been heavily involved in the conflict since its beginnings, when in the early 1960s the U.S. government encouraged the Colombian military to attack leftist militias in rural Colombia. This was part of the U.S. fight against communism.<ref name="colombia-and-us-54">{{cite book|title=Colombia and the United States: war, unrest, and destabilization|author1=Mario A. Murillo|author2=Jesús Rey Avirama|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-58322-606-3|year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri|url-access=registration|quote=la violencia colombia united states.|page=[https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri/page/54 54]}}</ref>

In October 1959, the United States sent a "Special Survey Team", composed of [[counterinsurgency]] experts, to investigate Colombia's internal security situation.<ref name="bandits">{{Cite web|url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/smallwars.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330101500/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/smallwars.htm|title=None|archive-date=March 30, 2010}}</ref> In February 1962, a Fort Bragg top-level U.S. Special Warfare team headed by Special Warfare Center commander General [[William P. Yarborough]], visited Colombia for a second survey.<ref name="inside-colombia-155">Livingstone, 2004: p. 155</ref> In a secret supplement to his report to the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], Yarborough encouraged the creation and deployment of a paramilitary force to commit sabotage and terrorist acts against communists:

{{blockquote|A concerted country team effort should be made now to select civilian and military personnel for clandestine training in resistance operations in case they are needed later. This should be done with a view toward development of a civil and military structure for exploitation in the event the Colombian internal security system deteriorates further. This structure should be used to pressure toward reforms known to be needed, perform counter-agent and counter-propaganda functions and as necessary execute paramilitary, [[sabotage]] and/or [[terrorism|terrorist]] activities against known communist proponents. It should be backed by the United States.<ref>Visit to Colombia, South America, by a Team from Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Warfare School, 26 Feb. 1962, Kennedy Library, Box 319, National Security Files, Special Group; Fort Bragg Team; Visit to Colombia; 3/62, "Secret Supplement, Colombian Survey Report."</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Rogue states: the rule of force in world affairs|author=Noam Chomsky|publisher=South End Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-89608-611-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/roguestatesruleo00chom_0/page/69 69]|url=https://archive.org/details/roguestatesruleo00chom_0|url-access=registration|access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref><ref name="hrw-killnet-ii">HRW, 1996: [https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1996/killer2.htm "II. History of the Military-Paramilitary Partnership"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012065408/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1996/killer2.htm |date=October 12, 2017 }}</ref>}}

[[File:Colpolwpowell.png|300px|thumb|[[Colin Powell]], then the U.S. Secretary of State, visiting Colombia as part of the United States' support of [[Plan Colombia]]]]
The first paramilitary groups were organized following recommendations made by U.S. military counterinsurgency advisers who were sent to Colombia during the Cold War to combat leftist political activists and armed guerrilla groups.<ref name="International actors">{{cite news|title= Understanding Colombia's armed conflict: International actors|url= http://colombiareports.com/causes-colombia-conflict-international-actors/|access-date= March 25, 2017|publisher= colombiareports.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170210145203/http://colombiareports.com/causes-colombia-conflict-international-actors/|archive-date= February 10, 2017|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

One multinational corporation has also been directly tied to paramilitary death squads. [[Chiquita Brands International]] was fined $25&nbsp;million as part of a settlement with the United States Justice Department for having ties to paramilitary groups.<ref name="International actors"/> In 2016, Judge [[Kenneth Marra]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida|Southern District of Florida]] ruled in favor of allowing Colombians to sue former Chiquita Brand International executives for the company's funding of the outlawed right-wing paramilitary organization that murdered their family members. He stated in his decision that "'profits took priority over basic human welfare' in the banana company executives' decision to finance the illegal death squads, despite knowing that this would advance the paramilitaries' murderous campaign."<ref>[http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/03/families-death-squad-victims-allowed-sue-chiquita-executives Families Of Death Squad Victims Allowed To Sue Chiquita Executives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225113903/http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/03/families-death-squad-victims-allowed-sue-chiquita-executives |date=February 25, 2017 }}. ''[[CommonDreams]].'' June 4, 2016.</ref>

In December 2013, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' revealed a covert CIA program, started in the early 2000s, which provides the Colombian government with intelligence and GPS guidance systems for [[smart bomb]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Priest|first=Dana|title=Covert action in Colombia: U.S. intelligence, GPS bomb kits help Latin American nation cripple rebel forces|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/12/21/covert-action-in-colombia/?wpisrc=al_excl|access-date=December 30, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208063108/http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/12/21/covert-action-in-colombia/?wpisrc=al_excl|archive-date=February 8, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of August 2004, the US had spent $3&nbsp;billion in Colombia, more than 75% of it on military aid. Before the [[Iraq War]], Colombia was the third largest recipient of US aid only after Egypt and Israel, and the U.S. has 400 military personnel and 400 civilian contractors in Colombia.{{Ref|Egeland}}{{Ref|Legrand}} Currently, however, Colombia is not a top recipient of U.S. aid, though it was under the first five years of the Plan Colombia.<ref>{{cite news|title= Top 10 U.S. Foreign Aid Recipients|url= https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/fullpage/top-10-us-foreign-aid-recipients-17534761|access-date= November 10, 2014|work=ABC News|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141110082343/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/fullpage/top-10-us-foreign-aid-recipients-17534761|archive-date= November 10, 2014|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

In March 2015, it was revealed [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] agents were participating in drug cartel-funded sex parties with prostitutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/us/politics/report-says-drug-agents-attended-sex-parties.html |title=Report Says Drug Agents Attended Sex Parties |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 26, 2015 |access-date=August 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829115911/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/us/politics/report-says-drug-agents-attended-sex-parties.html |archive-date=August 29, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Agents were provided with expensive gifts, weapons and money from drug cartel members.<ref>{{cite news|title= Report: DEA agents had 'sex parties' with prostitutes hired by drug cartels|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/report-dea-agents-had-sex-parties-with-prostitutes-hired-by-drug-cartels/2015/03/26/adb2d53e-d3bd-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html|access-date= August 28, 2017|work= washingtonpost.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170829082400/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/report-dea-agents-had-sex-parties-with-prostitutes-hired-by-drug-cartels/2015/03/26/adb2d53e-d3bd-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html|archive-date= August 29, 2017|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref> As a result, the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, [[Michele Leonhart]], announced her retirement.<ref>{{cite news|title= DEA chief resigns after 'sex parties' scandal|url= https://thehill.com/regulation/administration/239617-dea-chief-resigns-after-sex-parties-scandal/|access-date= August 28, 2017|publisher= thehill.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170901091005/http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/239617-dea-chief-resigns-after-sex-parties-scandal|archive-date= September 1, 2017|url-status= live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

According to the 2022 Truth Commission report, the 2019 arrest of [[Jesús Santrich]] on drug trafficking charges, which was a joint operation by the [[DEA]] and [[Office of the Attorney General of Colombia|Colombian Attorney General]] Néstor Humberto Martínez, was intended to send a message from the Colombian Attorney General's to the Colombian public that the peace process had failed. Santrich's arrest led to hundreds of ex-guerrillas taking up arms again, which jeopardized the peace process.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cambiocolombia.com/articulo/poder/la-dea-la-fiscalia-y-un-coronel-entramparon-el-proceso-de-paz | title=La DEA, la Fiscalía y un coronel entramparon el proceso de paz &#124; Cambio Colombia }}</ref>

== Statistics about victims of war ==
[[File:Centro de Memoria Histórica - Bogotá.jpg|thumb|The Memorial for Life and Center for Peace, Memory, and Reconciliation, located in Peace and Memory Park.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://centromemoria.gov.co/eje-de-la-paz-y-la-memoria/| title=The Axis of Peace and Memory| work=Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación| publisher=centromemoria.gov.co| access-date=April 23, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715013108/http://centromemoria.gov.co/eje-de-la-paz-y-la-memoria/| archive-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> In Colombia, April 9 is a symbolic day. It is a day of remembrance and [[solidarity]] with the conflict's victims.<ref name="Victims Law" />]]

According to a study by [[National Center for Historical Memory|Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory]], 220,000 people have died in the conflict between 1958 and 2013, most of them civilians (177,307 civilians and 40,787 fighters) and more than five million civilians were forced from their homes between 1985 and 2012, generating the world's second largest population of [[internally displaced person]]s (IDPs). The report shows that the humanitarian crisis in Colombia is extremely serious in terms of both lethal and nonlethal violence. The report examines the widespread use of sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon of war, as well as the invisibility of this phenomenon.<ref name="estadisticas"/><ref name="Enough Already!"/><ref name="aljazeera.com"/> 16.9% of the population in Colombia has been a direct victim of the war.<ref name="arcoiris.com.co"/>

2.3&nbsp;million children have been displaced from their homes, and 45,000 children killed, according to national figures cited by [[Unicef]]. In total, one in three of the 7.6&nbsp;million registered victims of the conflict are children, and since 1985, 8,000 minors have disappeared. Since the peace talks with the FARC began four years ago, some 1,000 children have been forcibly recruited by some of the myriad armed groups in the country, 75 have been killed, and 65 schools have been damaged by fighting.<ref name="Multi-Generation War"/>

According to the report "Basta ya", written in 2013 by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory, 80% of victims affected by conflict-related violence and landmines were civilians. The report documents 1,982 massacres between 1980 and 2012.<ref name="Enough Already!"/>

The Government also began a process of assistance, attention and comprehensive reparation for victims of conflict.<ref name="Victims Law">{{cite web |url=http://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/normatividad/LEY+DE+VICTIMAS.pdf |title=The Victims and Land Restitution Law |publisher=unidadvictimas.gov.co |access-date=December 21, 2014 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925110822/http://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/normatividad/LEY%2BDE%2BVICTIMAS.pdf |archive-date=September 25, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://restituciondetierras.gov.co/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305121426/http://restituciondetierras.gov.co/ |archive-date=March 5, 2013 |title=the Land Restitution Unit |publisher=restituciondetierras.gov.co |access-date=March 23, 2013 }}</ref> During his visit to Colombia, [[Pope Francis]] brought with him a message of peace and paid tribute to the victims of the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/08/pope_at_colombia_prayer_meeting_for_reconciliation_weeps_wit/1335635 |title=Pope at Colombia prayer meeting for reconciliation weeps with victims |date=September 8, 2017 |website=radiovaticana.va |access-date=September 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909034315/http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/08/pope_at_colombia_prayer_meeting_for_reconciliation_weeps_wit/1335635 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Special Jurisdiction of Peace]] (''Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz'', JEP) would be the transitional justice component of the Comprehensive System, complying with Colombia's duty to investigate, clarify, prosecute and punish serious human rights violations and grave breaches of [[international humanitarian law]] which occurred during the armed conflict. Its objectives would be to satisfy victims' right to [[justice]], offer truth to the public, contribute to the reparation of victims, contribute to the fight against impunity, adopt decisions which give full legal security to direct and indirect participants in the conflict and contribute to the achievement of a stable and lasting peace.<ref name="abcjep">{{cite web|title=ABC Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz|url=http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/Documents/informes-especiales/abc-del-proceso-de-paz/abc-jurisdiccion-especial-paz.html|publisher=Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005125954/http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/Documents/informes-especiales/abc-del-proceso-de-paz/abc-jurisdiccion-especial-paz.html|archive-date=October 5, 2016}}</ref>

The Special Unit for the Search of Missing Persons in the context and due to the armed conflict (''Unidad especial para la búsqueda de personas dadas por desaparecidas en el contexto y en razón del conflicto armado'') would be a special high-level unit created following the signature of the [[Colombian peace process|final agreement]]. It would direct and coordinate efforts to search for and locate missing persons, or find their remains so that they may be returned to their families. To carry out its work, the search unit would collect the necessary information about missing persons, analyze the information collected, strengthen and streamline processes for identifying mortal remains in coordination with the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, guarantee families' participation and present an official report to families informing them of the fate of missing relatives.<ref name="victimsagreementfarc">{{cite web|title=Agreement Victims|url=http://farc-epeace.org/peace-process/agreements/agreements/item/939-agreement-victims|publisher=FARC-EP International|access-date=August 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915110258/http://farc-epeace.org/peace-process/agreements/agreements/item/939-agreement-victims|archive-date=September 15, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The search unit would be administrative and financially independent and autonomous, complementing the other components of the Comprehensive System.

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
# {{note|talks}}{{cite web|title=Why did the Colombia Peace Process Fail?|work=The Tabula Rasa Institute|url=http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/5_1azcarate.pdf|access-date=February 26, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721203111/http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/5_1azcarate.pdf|archive-date=July 21, 2012}} [PDF file]
# {{note|AUC}}{{cite book
|first =Grace
|last =Livingstone
|year =2004
|title =Inside Colombia: Drugs, Democracy, and War
|publisher =Rutgers University Press
|isbn =0-8135-3443-7
|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=cOU0bvG8ZGwC&q=farc+colombia+founded&pg=PA176
|page =176
}}
# {{note|Graham}} {{cite book
|first =Alfredo
|last =Molano
|date =February 18, 2004
|title =Loyal Soldiers in the Cocaine Kingdom: Tales of Drugs, Mules, and Gunmen
|translator=James Graham
|publisher=Columbia University Press
|isbn =0-231-12915-7
}}
# {{note|Egeland}}{{cite journal
 |first=Canby
 |last=Peter
 |date=August 16, 2004 |title=Latin America's longest war; "More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia," "Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia," "Inside Colombia: Drugs, Democracy and War," "Loyal Soldiers in the Cocaine Kingdom: Tales of Drugs, Mules and Gunmen," "Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza in Colombia"; Book Review
 |journal=The Nation
 |volume=279
 |issue=5
 |page=31
 |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/58092.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020014048/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/58092.html
 |archive-date=October 20, 2006 }}
# {{note|Stokes}}{{cite journal
 |first=Doug
 |last=Stokes
 |date=July 1, 2005 |title=America's Other War: Terrorizing Colombia
 |journal=Canadian Dimension
 |volume=39
 |issue=4
 |page=26
 |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/54324.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109132325/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/54324.html
 |archive-date=January 9, 2016 }}
# {{note|Stokes2}} Stokes, p.&nbsp;26, quoting Marc Grossman, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs.
# {{note|ghosts}}{{cite book
|last =Dudley
|first =Steven
|year =2004
|title =Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia
|publisher =Routledge
|isbn =0-415-93303-X
|url =https://archive.org/details/walkingghostsmur00dudl
}}
# {{note|Corbyn}}{{cite journal
 |first=Jeremy
 |last=Corbyn
 |date=July 2, 2003 |title=Supporting terror; Jeremy Corbyn MP explains the reasons why Britain should be staying well clear of Colombian President Uribe Velez's regime
 |journal=Morning Star
 |page=7
 |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/59139.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531102041/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/59139.html
 |archive-date=May 31, 2006 }}
# {{note|InsideColombia}} Livingstone, (Foreword by Pearce, Jenny), p. xvii (f24)
# {{note|5a}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;5; <br />{{cite book
|first =Jenny
|last =Pearce
|date =May 1, 1990
|title =Colombia:Inside the Labyrinth
|publisher =Latin America Bureau
|location =London
|isbn =0-906156-44-0
|url =https://archive.org/details/colombiainsidela00pear/page/287
|page =[https://archive.org/details/colombiainsidela00pear/page/287 287]
}}
# {{note|xx}} Pearce's forward in Livingstone, p. xx
# {{note|Legrand}}{{cite journal
 |first=Catherine C
 |last=LeGrand
 |date=June 2003
 |title=The Colombian crisis in historical perspective (Record in progress)
 |journal=Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies
 |volume=28
 |issue=55/5
 |pages=165–209
 |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/58817.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531102017/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/58817.html
 |archive-date=May 31, 2006 }}
# {{note|Latin-focus}}{{cite web |title=Economic Indicators Real Sector, 1999–2004 |work=Latin Focus |url=http://www.latin-focus.com/latinfocus/countries/colombia/coleireal.htm |access-date=May 31, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619003143/http://latin-focus.com/latinfocus/countries/colombia/coleireal.htm |archive-date=June 19, 2006 }}
# {{note|Legrand2}} Legrand, p.&nbsp;165. See Note #15 for more on women in the conflict.
# {{note|Legrand3}} Legrand, p.&nbsp;165. See Note #18 for more on peasant support for the guerrillas. (see also Ortiz 2001; Reyes Posada and A. Bejarano 1988; Archila N. 1996)", Notes.
# {{note|Legrand4}} Legrand, p. 165. Lengrand states: "Some observers noted that this percentage of supposed paramilitary supporters elected to congress in March 2002 corresponded to the number of representatives elected from Uraba and the Atlantic coast where the paramilitaries are strong. (El Tiempo March 13–14, 2002)", see Notes.
# {{note|military}}{{cite web |title=Colombia's Three Wars: U.S. Strategy at the Crossroads |work=Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB34.pdf |access-date=February 26, 2006 |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211403/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB34.pdf }} [PDF file]
# {{note|military2}}{{cite web |title=Colombia's Three Wars: U.S. Strategy at the Crossroads |work=Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB34.pdf |access-date=February 26, 2006 |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211403/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB34.pdf }} [PDF file]<br />{{cite book
|last =James
|first =Preston Everett
|year =1969
|title =Latin America
|publisher=The Odyssey Press
|page =426
|edition =4th
}}
# {{note|military3}}{{cite web |title=The United States and Colombia: The Journey from Ambiguity to Strategic Clarity |work=Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB10.pdf |access-date=February 26, 2006 |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529161341/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB10.pdf }} [PDF file]
# {{note|5b}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;5; {{cite book
|author=Gonzalo Sánchez G.
|date=2001
|title =Violence in Colombia, 1990–2000: Waging War and Negotiating Peace
|editor=Charles Bergquist |editor2=Ricardo Peñaranda |editor3=Gonzalo Sánchez
|publisher=SR Books
|isbn =0-8420-2869-2
|page =13
}}
# {{note|poor}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;110.
# {{note|poor}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;7; Quoting: ''Colombia: Inseguridad, Violencia, y Desempeño Económico en las Areas Rurales, Consejería para la Paz de la Presidencia de la República'', Colombia, 1999, Director de Investigación: Jesus Antonio Bejarano Avila.
# {{note|5}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;5
# {{note|5c}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;5; Canby, p 31<br />{{cite web |title=Colombia |work=infoplease.com |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107419.html |access-date=February 26, 2006 }}
# {{note|6}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;6; {{cite journal |date=December 2002 |title=Amnistía Internacional Colombia Seguridad, ¿a qué precio? La falta de voluntad del gobierno para hacer frente a la crisis de derechos humanos |journal=Amnesty Internacional (Amnesty International) |url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLAMR231322002?open&of=ESL-2AM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107110934/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLAMR231322002?open&of=ESL-2AM |archive-date=November 7, 2007 }}
# {{note|6a}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;6; Source: Colombian Commission of Jurists; {{cite book
|first =Jaime
|last =Arocha
|year =1998
|title =Evolución reciente del conflicto armado en Colombia: La Guerrilla in Las violencias: inclusión creciente
|edition =1998
|pages =35–65
|publisher=CES
|location =Bogota
|isbn =958-96259-5-9
}}
# {{note|6b}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;6; Source: Colombian Commission of Jurists; {{cite journal
|year = 2000
|title = Country report on Human Rights in Colombia
|journal=US State Department
|pages =1
}}
# {{note|7}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;7; Source: Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS); {{cite book
|first =Nazih
|last =Richani
|date =April 1, 2002
|title =Systems of Violence: The Political Economy of War and Peace in Colombia
|publisher=State University of New York Press
|isbn =0-7914-5345-6
}}
# {{note|7a}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;7; Richani, p.&nbsp;87
# {{note|7b}} Livingstone, p.&nbsp;7
{{refend}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Further reading ===
<!--When adding books, Please use this format: {{cite book |title= |isbn= |}}-->

'''English books'''
* {{cite book |last =Cuellar |first =Francisco Ramírez |author2=Aviva Chomsky |year =2005 |title=The Profits of Extermination
|publisher=Common Courage Press. |location =Monroe, ME |isbn =1-56751-322-0}}
* {{cite book|author=Aviva Chomsky |title=Linked labor histories: New England, Colombia, and the making of a global working class |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8223-4190-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNxSYwP1TdEC}}
* {{cite book |last =Bushnell |first =David |year =1993 |title =The Making of Modern Colombia, a Nation in spite of itself |publisher =University of California Press |isbn =0-520-08289-3 |url =https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernco00bush }}
* {{cite book |last =Dudley |first =Steven |date =January 2004 |title =Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia |publisher =Routledge |isbn =0-415-93303-X |url =https://archive.org/details/walkingghostsmur00dudl }}
* {{cite book |author=Kirk, Robin |title=More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia |publisher=PublicAffairs |date=January 2003 |isbn=1-58648-104-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/moreterriblethan00robi }}
* [https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/law/humanitarian-law/war-ends-what-colombia-can-tell-us-about-sustainability-peace-and-transitional-justice?format=HB Meernik, DeMerritt and Uribe-Lopez (eds.). 2019. ''As War Ends: What Colombia Can Tell Us About the Sustainability of Peace and Transitional Justice''. Cambridge University Press.]
* {{cite book|author=Ruiz, Bert |title=The Colombian Civil War |publisher=McFarland & Company |date= October 1, 2001 |isbn=0-7864-1084-1}}
* {{cite book |title=Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=July 1, 2001 |isbn=0-19-504617-X |author=Safford, Frank |author2=Marco Palacios |url=https://archive.org/details/colombia00fran }}
* [http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100824930 Steele, Abbey. 2018. Democracy and Displacement in Colombia's Civil War. Cornell University Press.]
* {{cite book |last =Stokes |first =Doug |others =Noam Chomsky (Foreword) |year =2005 |title =America's Other War: Terrorizing Colombia |publisher=Zed Books |isbn =1-84277-547-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Taussig, Michael |title=Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza |publisher=New Press |date=November 1, 2003 |isbn=1-56584-863-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/lawinlawlessland00taus }}

'''Books in other languages'''
* {{cite book |title=Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism and Destabilization |publisher=Seven Stories Press |date=September 1, 2003 |isbn=1-58322-606-0 |author=Murillo, Mario |author2=Jesus Rey Avirama |url=https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri }}
* {{cite book|author=Palacios, Marco |title=Entre la legitimidad y la violencia: Colombia 1875–1994 |publisher=Norma |year=1995 |language=es}}
* {{cite book|author=Pardo Rueda, Rafael |title=La historia de las guerras |publisher=Ediciones B-Vergara |year=2004 |isbn=958-97405-5-3|language=es}}
* {{cite book |last=Hennecke |first=Angelika |year=2006 |title=Zwischen Faszination und Gewalt : Kolumbien—unser gemeinsamer Nenner: Reflexionen über das Verhältnis zwischen kultureller Identität, Kommunikation und Medien anhand der diskursanalytischen Untersuchung einer kolumbianischen Werbekampagne |publisher=Peter Lang |location=Frankfurt am Main |isbn=3-631-54930-X|language=de}}
* {{cite book|author=Pizarro Leongómez, Eduardo |title=Las Farc: de la autodefensa a la combinación de todas las formas de lucha |publisher=Universidad Nacional |year=1991 }}
* {{cite book|editor= Tirado Mejía, Alvaro |title=Nueva historia de Colombia |publisher=Planeta |year=1989 }}

'''Journals and periodicals'''
* {{cite journal |last1=Nussio |first1=Enzo|last2=Ugarriza |first2=Juan E. |title=Why Rebels Stop Fighting: Organizational Decline and Desertion in Colombia's Insurgency |journal=International Security |date=2021 |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=167–203 |doi=10.1162/isec_a_00406 |issn=0162-2889 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article/45/4/167/100570/Why-Rebels-Stop-Fighting-Organizational-Decline|doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11850/480000 |hdl-access=free }}
* Sherman, John W. "Political Violence in Colombia: Dirty Wars Since 1977." ''History Compass'' (Sep 2015) 13#9 pp 454–465.
* {{cite web|last=Cirlig|first=Carmen-Cristina|title=Colombia: new momentum for peace?|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/130577/LDM_BRI(2013)130577_REV1_EN.pdf|work=Library Briefing|publisher=Library of the European Parliament|access-date=July 15, 2013}}
* {{cite journal |first =Camilo A. |last =Azcarate |date=March 1999 |title=Psychosocial Dynamics of the Armed Conflict in Colombia
|journal=Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20030106145550/http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/2_1columbia.htm |url=http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/2_1columbia.htm |archive-date=January 6, 2003}}
* {{cite journal|author=James Petras|title=Neglected Dimensions of Violence|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume= 23|issue= 27|date=July 2, 1988|page=1367|jstor=4378701|author-link=James Petras}}
* {{cite journal|title=Getting Away with Murder: Social Cleansing in Colombia and the Role of the United States|author=Elizabeth F. Schwartz|journal=The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review|volume= 27|issue= 2|date=Winter 1995–1996|pages=381–420}}
* {{cite journal|title=Retreat to Colombia: The Pentagon Adapts Its Latin America Strategy|author=John Lindsay-Poland|journal=NACLA Report on the Americas|date=January–February 2010}}

'''Government/NGO reports'''
* {{cite web|title=Colombia |work=Human Rights Watch |url=http://hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=colomb |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223233832/https://hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=colomb |archive-date=February 23, 2006 }}
* {{cite web |title= Information about the combatants| work=Center for International Policy| url=http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/infocombat.htm| access-date=February 24, 2006}}
* {{cite web|title=Solutions to Escape the Conflict's Impasse |work=National Human Development Report 2003 |url=http://indh.pnud.org.co/pagina.plx?pg=ENdescargaInforme2003&mlat=11&lang=EN |access-date=February 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803165307/http://indh.pnud.org.co/pagina.plx?pg=ENdescargaInforme2003&mlat=11&lang=EN |archive-date=August 3, 2004 }} ''Extensive ideas on solutions to the Colombia conflict''
* {{cite web|title= Colombia 2005 Report|work= UN High Commissioner for Human Rights|url= http://www.hchr.org.co/documentoseinformes/informes/altocomisionado/informes.php3?cod=9&cat=11|access-date= February 24, 2006|archive-date= August 1, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200801052131/https://www.hchr.org.co/documentoseinformes/informes/altocomisionado/informes.php3?cod=9&cat=11}} ''(Spanish and English)''
* {{cite web |title=The Day after Tomorrow: Colombia's FARC and the End of the Conflict |work=International Crisis Group |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/053-the-day-after-tomorrow-colombia-s-farc-and-the-end-of-the-conflict.pdf |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213013210/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/053-the-day-after-tomorrow-colombia-s-farc-and-the-end-of-the-conflict.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2014 }} ''(Spanish and English)''
* {{cite web |title= Squaring Colombia's Circle: The Objectives of Punishment and the Pursuit of Peace |work=International Center for Transitional Justice |date=June 2, 2015 |url=https://www.ictj.org/publication/squaring-colombia-circle-objectives-punishment-peace |access-date=August 24, 2016}}
* {{cite web |title= From Principles to Practice: Challenges of Implementing Reparations for Massive Violations in Colombia |work=International Center for Transitional Justice |date=October 19, 2015 |url=https://www.ictj.org/publication/principles-practice-challenges-implementing-reparations-massive-violations-colombia |access-date=August 24, 2016}}
* {{cite web |title= Political Crime, Amnesties and Pardons: Scope and Challenges |work=International Center for Transitional Justice |date=June 2, 2016 |url=https://www.ictj.org/publication/colombia-political-crime-amnesties |access-date=August 24, 2016}}

'''News'''
* {{cite web|title='Let's talk about the disappeared' |author=Constanza Vieira |work=Inter Press Service |date=July 16, 2010 |url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52185 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718113031/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52185 |archive-date=July 18, 2010 }}
* {{cite web|title=Indigenous Community in Colombia Fears Start of "Dirty War |work=[[Democracy Now!]] |url=http://www.democracynow.org/print.pl?sid=05/05/20/1425246 |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223154742/http://www.democracynow.org/print.pl?sid=05%2F05%2F20%2F1425246 |archive-date=February 23, 2006 }} ''Guests: Ezequiel Vitonas, former mayor of Toribio, and Manuel Rozental, human rights activist. Interviewers: [[Juan Gonzalez (journalist)|Juan Gonzalez]] and [[Amy Goodman]]. Segment available in and via streaming real audio {{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 128k streaming Real Video {{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} or MP3 download.''
* [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/017/301nyrut.asp?page=1 The Colombian Miracle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018095926/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/017/301nyrut.asp?page=1 |date=October 18, 2015 }}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151017055541/http://midwestdiplomacy.com/2015/09/28/what-the-farc/ Overview of Colombian–FARC Peace Process]
* [https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21677414-former-combatants-colombias-internal-armed-conflict-spent-two-years-painting-their-experiences Who are the victims? – The aftermath of violence in Colombia] – (Former combatants in Colombia's internal armed conflict spent two years painting their experiences. They face difficult decisions about what to remember, what to forget and how to forgive)
* {{cite web|title=Colombia Page on InSight Crime |url=http://insightcrime.org/country-profiles/colombia |access-date=March 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726191259/http://insightcrime.org/country-profiles/colombia |archive-date=July 26, 2011 }} ''(Ongoing reporting on the Colombian conflict and active criminal groups)''
* {{cite web|title=Evolution of the Colombian Civil War |work=Paul Wolf |url=http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/colombiawar.htm |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203231744/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/colombia/colombiawar.htm |archive-date=February 3, 2006 }} ''(collection of declassified U.S. documents online)''
* {{cite web |title=War in Colombia: Guerrillas, Drugs and Human Rights in U.S.-Colombia Policy, 1988–2002|work=National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 69|editor=Michael Evans|date=May 3, 2002|publisher=National Security Archive |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB69/index.html}}
* {{cite web| title=America's Other War: Terrorizing Colombia| url=http://www.geocities.com/travbailey/colombia.htm| access-date=February 25, 2006| archive-url=https://archive.today/20091026031546/http://www.geocities.com/travbailey/colombia.htm| archive-date=October 26, 2009| df=mdy-all}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122036/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~cmguhnkn/plancolombia/ Plan Colombia by Carmen Guhn-Knight]
* {{cite web |title=Rule of Law in Armed Conflict: Colombia |work=RULAC Project |url=http://www.adh-geneva.ch/RULAC/state.php?id_state=47 |access-date=March 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706221232/http://www.adh-geneva.ch/RULAC/state.php?id_state=47 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}
*{{cite news |title=Q&A: Colombia's civil conflict |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1738963.stm |access-date=February 24, 2006 |date=December 23, 2009}}
*{{cite web |title= Colombia Program| work=Center for International Policy| url=http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/ |access-date=February 24, 2006}}
*{{cite web |title=Accord issue on Colombia's peace process |work=Alternatives to war |url=http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/colombia/contents.php |access-date=November 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117132148/http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/colombia/contents.php |archive-date=November 17, 2006 }} ''(In Spanish and English with chronology and key texts and agreements)''
*{{cite web|title=CERAC |work=Conflict Analysis Resources Center |url=http://www.cerac.org.co/home_english.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704160310/http://www.cerac.org.co/home_english.htm |archive-date=July 4, 2007 }} Colombian-based private research center that studies the conflict ''(In Spanish and English)''
*{{cite web |title=Colombian Army website |url=http://www.ejercito.mil.co/?idcategoria=4&cadena_buscar=farc |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005354/http://www.ejercito.mil.co/?idcategoria=4&cadena_buscar=farc |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }} ''(In Spanish and English)''
*{{cite web|title=Colombian President's Office |url=http://www.presidencia.gov.co/ |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118210216/http://www.presidencia.gov.co/ |archive-date=November 18, 2008 }} ''(In Spanish and English)''
*{{cite web |title=Background Note: Colombia |work=U.S. Department of State |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35754.htm |access-date=February 11, 2006}}
*{{cite web|title=Different Views of Colombian Territory |url=http://www.en-camino.org/viewsofcolombia.htm |access-date=February 24, 2006 }} {{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Maps of the conflict.
*{{cite web |title=AUC Official Website |url=http://www.colombialibre.org |access-date=February 24, 2006}} ''(in Spanish)''
*{{cite web|title=FARC website |url=http://resistencianacional.net |access-date=July 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705091600/http://resistencianacional.net/ |archive-date=July 5, 2008 }} ''(in Spanish and English)'' – No longer available online (censored by U.S. government)
*{{cite web|title=Civil War? The Language of Conflict in Colombia |work=Ideas for Peace Foundation |url=http://www.ideaspaz.org/publicaciones/download/guerra_civil_english.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910205812/http://www.ideaspaz.org/publicaciones/download/guerra_civil_english.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2009 |access-date=February 24, 2006 }} (PDF) Is the Colombia conflict a civil war?
*{{cite web |title=The Peace Village San José Must Live |work=SOS San Jose |url=http://www.sos-sanjose.org/ |access-date=February 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112142245/http://www.sos-sanjose.org/ |archive-date=January 12, 2006 }} ''(in German and English)''
*{{cite web |title=Washington Office on Latin America |url=http://www.wola.org/ |access-date=February 24, 2006}}
*{{cite web| title=Who Shot My Brother?| url=http://www.onf.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=53566&lg=en&v=h| work=National Film Board of Canada| access-date=May 27, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524002425/http://www.onf.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=53566&v=h&lg=en| archive-date=May 24, 2007}}
*{{cite web |title=Why the End of the Cold War Doesn't Matter: the US War of Terror in Colombia |work=Bristol University Politics Department |url=http://www.aqnt98.dsl.pipex.com/choms.htm |access-date=February 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051001014412/http://www.aqnt98.dsl.pipex.com/choms.htm |archive-date=October 1, 2005}} by Doug Stokes
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060402213527/http://redresistencia.org/ Red Resistencia]
*{{cite web |title=Insight on Conflict |work=Colombia Peacebuilding database |url=http://www.insightonconflict.org/ |access-date=November 21, 2006 |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701051815/http://www.insightonconflict.org/ }}
* [http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/CO_DIS.htm?v=in_detail Crisis briefing on displacement because of the war] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119164040/http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/CO_DIS.htm?v=in_detail |date=November 19, 2010 }} from [[Reuters AlertNet]]

{{Colombia conflict|state=collapsed}}
{{Colombia topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Ongoing military conflicts}}
{{Post-Cold War conflicts in the Americas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colombian conflict}}
[[Category:Colombian conflict| ]]
[[Category:Guerrilla wars]]
[[Category:Wars involving Colombia]]
[[Category:Civil wars involving the states and peoples of South America]]
[[Category:Civil wars of the 20th century]]
[[Category:Civil wars of the 21st century]]
[[Category:Revolution-based civil wars]]
[[Category:Military history of Colombia]]
[[Category:FARC]]
[[Category:Rebellions in South America]]
[[Category:20th century in Colombia]]
[[Category:21st century in Colombia]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2022]]
[[Category:Anti-communist terrorism]]
[[Category:Proxy wars]]
[[Category:Communism in Colombia]]
[[Category:Communist rebellions]]
[[Category:Cold War conflicts]]
[[Category:Law enforcement operations against drug trafficking]]
[[Category:Law enforcement operations against organized crime in Colombia]]
[[Category:Military operations against organized crime]]
[[Category:Organized crime conflicts in Colombia]]