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The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army, in Spanish '''''Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del Pueblo''''', also known by the acronym of '''FARC''' or '''FARC-EP''' is a Communist Revolutionary and illegally armed Guerrilla organization in Colombia . It was established in 1964-1966 as the Military wing of the Colombian Communist Party , and is designated by the Colombian Government , the United States , and the European Union , amongst others, as a Terrorist Organization for their actions against not only the government but also towards civilians, natural environment and infrastructure. While the FARC originated as a purely , 2007. which caused an official separation from the Commmunist Party and the formation of a political structure it calls the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party . Despite accusations of terrorism, FARC-EP members still consider their organization a guerrilla movement, as do some analysts who argue that the FARC-EP's ideological positioning and aptitude has remained consistent., 2007. With an estimated 12,000-18,000 members (approximately 20 to 30% of them are recruits under 18 years of age, 2006.), the FARC-EP is present in 35-40 percent of Colombia's territory, most strongly in southeastern jungles and in plains at the base of the Andes mountains. OVERVIEW The FARC-EP is governed by a secretariat led by septuagenarian Manuel Marulanda Vélez (Pedro Antonio Marín), also known as "Tirofijo", and seven others, including senior military commander Jorge Briceño , also known as "Mono Jojoy." It is organized along military lines and includes several urban fronts. The group added "-EP" (Ejército del Pueblo) to its official name during its Seventh Guerrilla Conference in 1982 as an expression of expected progression from Guerrilla Warfare to conventional military action outlined on that occasion. ''See also: Military Structure Of The FARC-EP '' The FARC-EP has proclaimed itself as a politico-military , 2006 . See Also: Socio-economic Structure of the FARC-EP The FARC-EP says it remains open to a negotiated solution to the nation's conflict, through a dialogue with a flexible government that agrees to certain conditions, such as the demilitarization of locations and the release of all jailed (and extradited) FARC rebels. At the same time, it claims that until these conditions surface, the armed revolutionary struggle will remain necessary to implement the group's policy objectives. This is because the FARC-EP perceives Colombia's political environment as closed, and because of politically motivated violence against its members, supporters and former members, including activists of the Patriotic Union and other social and political movements. These conclusions are not shared by Colombia's legal leftwing and independent parties. National and international critics often characterize the FARC-EP as terrorist. Critics of the FARC-EP often suggest that the group's methods have discredited its original goals and ideology. The FARC, like the rightwing paramilitary groups that are their sworn enemies (e.g. AUC ), has attacked and kidnapped civilian targets. The FARC also frequently recruits teens as soldiers and informants. There are those who join voluntarily, seeking to escape rural poverty and unemployment. Human Rights Watch estimates that the FARC has the majority of child combatants in Colombia. An estimated 20-30 percent of FARC combatants are under 18 years old, with many as young as 12 years old, for a total of around 5000 children. Children who try to escape the ranks of the guerrillas can be punished with torture and death.Human Rights Watch. "'You'll Learn Not to Cry: Child Combatants in Colombia." , 2006 . The United States Department Of State includes the FARC-EP on its List Of Foreign Terrorist Organizations , as does the European Union . HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The period that followed the murder of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948 saw the loss of more than 200,000 lives and became known as '' La Violencia '' ("The Violence"). "Toward the end of La Violencia , a new generation of young Colombians who had been socialized to think that violence was a normal way of life…increasingly took to banditry." By 1953, the Colombian Conservative Party government of Laureano Gómez (elected 1950 in an election boycotted by the Colombian Liberal Party), unable to cope with the situation, became increasingly unpopular in the eyes of both public opinion and other political figures of both parties. In what was seen as a successful effort that sought to reestablish order, the military, under the figure of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla , seized control of the country in 1953. The new military government offered amnesty to the bandits and guerrillas that surrendered their weapons. And most did. However, some Liberal guerrilla groups included a large number of communists who refused to surrender their arms. They retreated to isolated areas of the country where they continued to operate and organize their own communities. In other areas, such as Villarrica, Tolima, former guerrillas suffered attacks. Jacobo Arenas , who would later become the ideological leader of the FARC, was sent by the Colombian Communist Party as a political activist in order to help organize existing self-defense and guerrilla units in a rural enclave during "La Violencia" (1948-1955). Jacobo Arenas later wrote a book called "Diario de la resistencia de Marquetalia" ("Diary of the Marquetalian resistance"). The book includes a chronicle of the events of the fight between the guerrilla fighters and the soldiers of the Colombian army brigade. Civilian rule was restored in 1958 after moderate Conservatives and Liberals, with the support of dissident sectors of the military, agreed to unite under a bipartisan coalition known as the National Front . (Political alternation within the coalition eventually resulted in the election of Misael Pastrana in 1970 as president, under a very criticized process which was considered to be dishonest by many in the Colombian public and media.) Meanwhile, armed self-defense groups of communists had successfully established their own government in a remote region of the country, unofficially known as the "republic" of Marquetalia . According to 1958 US embassy and military records on file at the , 2006 . This group had been organized some time in the early 1950s by Dumar Aljure, an associate of Guadalupe Salcedo. In the following years, Aljure's power and that of this early guerrilla organization declined until his own death in 1968, when he still had a degree of control and influence over Puerto Lleras. Separately, the Colombian government had initially ignored the growing influence of several communist enclaves in and around Sumapaz until 1964 when, under pressure by Conservatives who considered the autonomous communities to be a threat, the Colombian National Army was ordered to attack the so-called "independent republics". Following the attack the communists dispersed, only to later reorganize as the " Southern Bloc " ("Bloque Sur"). In 1964, the Bloque Sur renamed itself the "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia" (FARC). Jacobo Arenas and Manuel Marulanda were two of the founders of the new guerrilla group and became its two top leaders. Whether the organization's new name could have been derived from Dumar Aljure 's earlier Liberal guerrilla, or whether the new FARC may possibly have included among its initial members some of Aljure's former followers, is not clear. The finer details of this part of the FARC's early history are unclear, and most histories of the FARC, including those which reference the writings of Arenas and other FARC founders, omit any mention of Aljure's guerrilla army entirely. While the group officially came into existence in 1966, some of its leaders were former liberal and communist guerrillas. Other observers point out that, by the time that the 1964 movement was founded, different national and international realities, such as the successful example of armed revolution provided by the Cuban Revolution , had come into being and had a more direct influence on the final creation and establishment of the FARC (and the contemporary National Liberation Army ). As FARC continued to grow, it established itself throughout the country in semi-autonomous fronts. On February 14 , 1977 , FARC guerillas kidnapped Richard Starr (1947-83), a Peace Corps volunteer, during a raid on a rural police station. Starr was held for almost three years, until his mother, assisted by newspaper columnist Jack Anderson secured his release on February 11 , 1980 , after payment of a ransom of $250,000. SEVENTH GUERRILLA CONFERENCE OF THE FARC-EP ''Main article : Seventh Guerrilla Conference Of The FARC-EP '' FARC ideologue Jacobo Arenas was allegedly the main figure behind the FARC's Seventh Guerrilla Conference in 1982, and a contemporary "Strategic Plan", which would have outlined a series of goals and steps that would organize the FARC into an "Army of the People" (the initials "EP", Ejército del Pueblo, were adopted during this Conference) capable of potentially seizing power sometime in the 1990s, explicitly combining both the illegal and legal forms of struggle (organically implementing a traditional Marxist and Communist strategy termed "the combination of all forms of struggle"), as well as the political and the military aspects of their group. Under the guidance of Jacobo Arenas and Manuel Marulanda, the Seventh Guerrilla Conference was a turning point in the FARC's struggle, as it provided them with the opportunity to finetune their policies and plans in order for them to build their desired socialist state in the future. Many U.S. and other military experts argue that Manuel Marulanda Vélez, as a veteran guerilla fighter and as an excellent commander for four decades, heads perhaps the most capable and dangerous Marxist guerilla organization in the world. Marulanda is very often referred to as "Sureshot" ("Tirofijo"), because of a reputation for using firearms very accurately during his earlier years as an insurgent. For some of those analysts, an allegedly problematic aspect in Marulanda's profile concerns the fact that he has limited educational background, due to the poor economic conditions that his family and many others had to face when growing up in rural Colombia. Jacobo Arenas, on the other hand, had political and ideological education as a communist intellectual, thus it is believed that he realized that FARC's initial status was not up to the necessary standards needed to properly fight a Colombian Army that could count on the aid of the United States from time to time. This was possible since, after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the United States increased its military influence throughout the region through the activities of the United States Southern Command , an organization tasked with overseeing and handling military affairs in Latin America . U.S. Special Forces , such as the Green Berets , specifically trained to fight in Latin America jungles for Counterinsurgency operations. Additionally, the widespread Spanish language was also taught to many members of U.S. forces in the region. From the perspective of Arenas, the challenge of having to potentially face the most technologically advanced military in the world made upgrading FARC's own military capabilities a necessity. The role of Jacobo Arenas in FARC's military reorganization was significant. After the Seventh Guerilla Conference in 1982, Arenas started to work toward the goal of turning the FARC from a guerrilla organization to a rebel army (the "People's Army"). According to his instructions, FARC added ranks and badges to many of its uniforms, as well as introducing a new inventory system for firearms and ammunition, in addition to providing new weapons and technology for FARC militants. In theory, a properly organized and trained guerrilla army would thus meet the international requirements for the recognition of a "state of belligerence", contained within the Geneva Conventions of August 12 , 1949 and its additional protocols. Jacobo Arenas died in August 1990. Official FARC versions claimed he died of a sudden Heart Attack . However, claims of foul play have not gone without notice. Different sources from within the guerrilla group state that he was murdered by a low ranking guerrilla officer sometime after Arenas himself had ordered to execute, for unknown reasons, this officer's brother. ACTIVITIES See Also: Military History of the FARC-EP Kidnappings in Colombia FARC has financed itself through Kidnapping ransoms, Extortion , Drug Trafficking which includes but it is not limited to Coca plant harvesting, protection of their crops, processing of coca leaves to manufacture Cocaine , and Drug Trade protection. Businesses operating in rural areas, including Agricultural , Oil , and Mining interests, were required to pay "vaccines" (monthly payments) which "protected" them from subsequent attacks and kidnappings. An additional, albeit less lucrative, source of revenue was highway blockades where guerrillas stopped motorists and buses in order to confiscate jewelry and money, which were especially prevalent during the presidencies of Ernesto Samper Pizano (1994-1998) and that of Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002). Over time, fewer recruits joined the organization for ideological reasons, but rather as a means to escape Poverty and Unemployment . "FARC's narcotics-related income for 1995 reportedly totaled $647 million." Although the FARC rarely provides a regular cash pay to the majority of its members, per capita income for Colombian guerrilla fighters has at times been calculated to reach at least 40 times the national average. In 1991, a small group of guerrillas invaded the Brazil ian side of the jungle, and attacked an army post near the Traira River , in the first and only confirmed clash with the Brazilian Army to date. Three soldiers were killed and some weapons stolen. A few days later a Brazilian commando struck back, killing seven guerrillas. There has also been alleged FARC activity in Peru and Venezuela . By 1998, some studies showed that FARC's ranks could have swelled to approximately some 15,000 guerrilla fighters, up from an estimated 7,500 in 1992, and effectively were in a position to control and freely operate through large rural areas of the country (the high-end estimates being about 40%-50%, according to some analysts). One observer controversially noted that, on average, they would appear to be "better armed, equipped, and trained than the Colombian armed forces." Other observers would dispute the current applicability of this assessment in the face of increased U.S. aid and training to the Colombia state and its Military . The FARC-EP has employed , 2006 . The FARC's tactic of employing a type improvised Mortars made from gas canisters (or cylinders) as explosives, a weapon it often uses when launching attacks at towns and sites in them that they consider as military objectives (such as Police stations), has a high degree of inaccuracy. Resulting targeting difficulties have caused these weapons to often level civilian houses and/or harm civilians, such as the case in Toribío on April 24 2005 , and the earlier 2002 attack on a church in Bojayá which killed 119 civilians. , 2006 . In March 1999 , the FARC-EP killed three U.S. Native American rights activists, in Venezuela n territory after kidnapping them in Colombia. After initial denials and claims that these U.S. citizens were CIA agents, the FARC-EP subsequently admitted that this action was a mistake, and claimed that it would internally punish those responsible. International NGO s and observers have argued that the FARC would have yet to apply any serious punishment to those involved in the incident. The FARC-EP is responsible for most of the ransom kidnappings in Colombia. The group's kidnapping targets are usually those that it considers wealthy landowners and businessmen, as well as foreign tourists and entrepreneurs, and prominent international and domestic officials. Colombian and international NGOs have documented that in recent years the FARC has also resorted to kidnapping people from lower income sectors (that is, from the Colombian middle class downward), in particular when they are thought to be collaborators or relatives of the FARC's enemies. It is argued that many of these kidnappings have taken place with little to no regard for the target's age, gender or health conditions. The FARC is believed to have ties to narcotics traffickers, principally through the provision of armed protection and a form of "taxation" over drugs crops and their profits. During the mid- to late-1990s, several drugwar analysts have stated that the FARC would have become increasingly involved in the drug trade, controlling farming, production and exportation of cocaine in those areas of the country under their influence. This claim is also supported by U.S. and Colombian authorities. Brazilian druglord Fernandinho Beira-Mar was captured in Colombia on , 2006 Fernandinho himself and the FARC-EP have denied this. FARC itself has claimed that in their areas of influence the growth of coca plants by farmers would be taxed on the same basis as any other crop, though there would be higher cash profits stemming from coca production and exportation. During the first quarter of 2005, joint intelligence and police operations by law enforcement authorities from , 2006 . In , 2006 . In August 2006, Chile an authorities seized more than 108 kilograms of cocaine and captured twelve members of an international drug trafficking ring, which they described as being led by an unnamed Colombian in Panama who received and distributed the ring's profits to finance FARC activities. {Link without Title} ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE See Also: Military Structure of the FARC-EP See also: FARC-EP Chain Of Command Development The FARC's force strength is usually estimated to be at around 15,000 to 18,000 men, organized in more than 80 fronts. Roughly from 1949 to 1964, during the "La Violencia" period of Colombian history, the FARC's precursor was a small Communist guerrilla band around Marquetalia. In May 1964 the Colombian Army retook Marquetalia. The rebels scattered, reorganised, and in 1966, the FARC was formally created as a slightly enlargened guerrilla entity (estimated at 350 members) During the 1970s the FARC kept a low profile by staying inside its traditional heartland areas, but the Seventh Guerilla Conference in 1982 represented a significant change in outlook, as the FARC changed its structure. Manuel Marulanda Vélez is the organisation's leader. Jacobo Arenas is the FARC's main ideologue and academic. From the early 1980s, the FARC added ranks and unit badges to uniforms, as well as introducing a new inventory system for firearms and ammunition, in addition to providing new weapons and technology for FARC militants. Jacobo Arenas was probably central to planning the FARC-EP which is used to this day. Unit structure , member of the FARC-EP.]] These are the units the FARC uses:
The FARC believes that since the early 1980s it has met the requirements for the recognition of a "state of belligerence" contained within the Geneva Conventions of August 12 , 1949 and additional protocols. Their opponents and the Colombian government claim that the practice of civilian kidnapping for ransom and the tax levied on coca crop buyers makes it an illegitimate army and also point to a wide rejection of the guerrilla policies in national surveys. The FARC-EP is organized into seven main operational regions and “block” is the name given to each FARC military command inside one of the main operational regions. According to the FARC's military operational strategies, which take into account factors such as the size of the area and its population, each block is composed of between 5 to 15 fronts. In addition, there are various independent, elite or mobile fronts attached to some blocks normally under the direct control of the FARC's high command. The FARC also maintains various "Military intelligence units". The FARC-EP maintains a Military Academy and a two-month basic military training program, mainly involoving infantry tactics. After basic training, guerrilla fighters are further assessed and have evaluation and performance records. After some time, better candidates may do advanced training. Ranks Ranks (in ascending order of seniority): Equivalent to " Other Ranks ":
Equivalent to officers:
Equivalent to general officers:
It should be remembered that a FARC company is a lower level of command (of approximately 50 men) than a company in traditional army organisation. THE LATE 1990S PEACE PROCESS See Also: FARC-Government peace process (1999-2002) On September 4 , 1996 the FARC-EP attacked a military base in Guaviare , which started three weeks of guerrilla warfare that claimed the lives of at least 130 Colombians, soldiers and civilians included. In hope of negotiating a peace settlement, on , 2006 . Shortly after the end of talks, the FARC kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt , who was traveling in guerrilla territory. RECENT HISTORY - BACK TO THE WAR has intensified military operations against the FARC, seeking to defeat them.]] For most of the period between 2002 and 2005, the FARC-EP was believed to be in a strategic withdrawal due to the increasing military and Police actions of new hardline president Álvaro Uribe Vélez , which led to the capture or desertion of many fighters and medium-level commanders, one of the most important of which has been that of " Simón Trinidad " (Juvenal Ovidio Palmera Pineda) in January 2004 , a former banker turned rebel, who had participated as a high-profile negotiator in the recent Pastrana peace talks, and who was also part of the central command of the organization. During the first two years of the Uribe administration, the strength of several FARC fronts, mostly notably in Cundinamarca and Antioquia , was broken by the government's military operations, and several analysts reported that many of the other FARC structures, while mostly intact, reverted back to guerrilla warfare, using "hit and run" tactics against targets of opportunity and the weaker links in the military's defenses. An article in the respected , 2004 and accessed November 10 , 2006 . When questioned about the matter by interviews, different FARC spokesmen have, both directly and indirectly, tended to dismiss this claim. In , 2006 . Another incident occurred on July 10 , 2004 , when the FARC allegedly assassinated seven peasants (Francisco Giraldo, Carlos Torres, José Velásquez, Israel Velásquez, Mauricio Herrera, John Jairo Usuga and Pablo Usuga), in Samaná, near the municipality of San Carlos, Antioquia , according to the mayor of San Carlos, Colombian authorities and witnesses to the event. The victims of the massacre were labourers who had returned to the zone after being forcefully displaced by the FARC earlier, presumably due to military or paramilitary activity in the area. They were apparently murdered because they had not received permission from the FARC to return yet, according to witnesses. The July 10 massacre provoked a further exodus of at least 80 persons from the surrounding rural area towards the urban locality of San Carlos. On July 13 , 2004 , the office of the United Nations ' High Commissioner For Human Rights publicly condemned this further act of violence and the ensuing displacement, accusing the FARC of violating article 17 of the additional Protocol II of the Geneva Convention and of international humanitarian law, expressing its solidarity towards the families of the victims. The office reminded the FARC, which in the past has publicly rejected the legal applicability of the Geneva Convention to its case (though it also claims to be following most of its directives anyway), that these principles must be followed by any person or group of persons, independent of their legal condition.Colombia Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, cited by the , 2006 . According to the AP news agency, on August 18 , 2004 , a Colombian arms broker, Carlos Gamarra Murillo, arrested on April 1 , 2004 in Tampa , Florida , USA , was charged with attempting to buy $4 million in rocket launchers, machine guns, and other heavy weapons and ammunition for the FARC, which would have been paid for with 2 tons of cocaine (worth 60% of the total amount, according to investigators) and cash. The weapons would then have been shipped through Venezuela, according to investigators. US Attorney General John Ashcroft stated that Gamarra "attempted to provide the fuel to feed a dangerous foreign terrorist organization". Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Michael Garcia signaled the indictment as "a significant achievement". Gamarra apparently made contact with an undercover informant in Colombia in March 2003 , according to an ICE agent who testified in April. Gamarra is currently held without bail after heading to Tampa in order to meet U.S. agents posing as weapons dealers. During the next year, it is alleged that he met and called the agents in order to arrange the weapons shipment and also inquired about buying Surface-to-air Missiles , presumably for use against Colombian military helicopters and other aircraft {Link without Title} . On , 2006 . In early February 2005, a series of small scale military actions by the FARC around the southwestern departments of Colombia, which resulted in an estimated 40 casualties (dead and wounded) for the Colombian security forces, were interpreted by many Colombian analysts as evidence of their remaining strength and as signs of a possible comeback for the group, signaling what could become the potential beginning of more offensive operations and the end of what was termed as their strategic withdrawal. The FARC-EP, in response to government military operations in the south and in the southeast, would now be displacing its Military Center Of Gravity towards the Nariño , Putumayo and Cauca departments. It was speculated that these actions, and those that might follow later into the year, could be directed towards undermining the advances made by the policies of the Uribe administration, as a possible means to weaken Uribe's chances in the future 2006 electoral contest, where he was expected to run for reelection.BBC News. "'Deadliest' hit on Colombian army." , 2006 . Attacks in 2005 ''See also : List Of FARC Attacks In 2005 '' During 2005, the FARC launched a response to Álvaro Uribe's security strategy and to Plan Patriota, apparently adopting a new style of operations, in particular near the southwest of Colombia. The FARC would have previously implemented what was later called "Plan Resistencia" in order to endure Plan Patriota's continuing effects, by withdrawing into the jungle and executing a temporary halt in its larger scale attacks. The FARC believe that Plan Patriota has been a failure, as mentioned in some of their communiques. Between 1996 and 1998, and even until 2000, the FARC had executed large scale multi-front attacks. The FARC's newer attacks were different, consisting of what have been called medium-size unit concentrations, considered to be potentially more flexible against Colombian military action but still able to pack a substantial punch. POSSIBILITY OF PRISONER EXCHANGE WITH THE GOVERNMENT The FARC-EP have demanded the formalization of a mechanism for prisoner exchange, which would involve the liberation of the approximately 70 political and military hostages (not those civilians held for extortion or ransom, which may number in the thousands) that the group currently holds, in exchange for the release of at least 500 to 600 jailed rebels, or at most all of the rebels currently in jail. During the days of the Pastrana negotiations, a limited exchange took place. The newly elected Uribe administration initially ruled out any negotiation with FARC that did not include a cease-fire, and instead pushed for rescue operations, many of which have traditionally been successful when carried out by the police's GAULA anti-kidnapping group in urban settings (as opposed to the mountains and jungles where the FARC keeps most hostages), according to official statistics. However, relatives of most FARC kidnapping victims have come to strongly reject any potential rescue operations, in part due to the tragic death of the governor of Antioquia department, Guillermo Gaviria Correa , his peace advisor and several soldiers, kidnapped by the FARC during a peace march in 2003. The governor and the others were shot at close range by the FARC when the government launched an army (not GAULA) rescue mission into the jungle which failed as soon as the guerrillas learned of its presence in the area. In August 2004, after several false starts and in the face of mounting pressure from relatives, former , 2004 and accessed on November 11 , 2006 . the growing majority popular backing in favor of a humanitarian exchange (more than 60% would consider Colombia a "better country" if the exchange took place), the Uribe government seems to have gradually flexibilized its position, announcing that it has given the FARC a formal proposal on July 23 , in which it offers to free 50 to 60 jailed rebels in exchange for the political and military hostages held by the FARC (not including ransom kidnapees as well, as the government had earlier demanded). The government would make the first move, releasing insurgents charged or condemned for rebellion and either allowing them to leave the country or to stay and join the state's reinsertion program, and then the FARC would release the hostages in its possession, including Ingrid Betancourt. The proposal would have been carried out with the backing and support of the French and Swiss governments, which publicly supported it once it was revealed. The move has been signaled as potentially positive by several relatives of the victims and political figures. Some critics of the president have considered that Uribe may seek to gain political prestige from such a move, though they would agree with the project in practice., 2004 and accessed November 11 , 2006 . FARC released a communique, dated August 20 but apparently published publicly by August 22 , in which they denied having received the proposal earlier through the mediation of Switzerland (as the government had stated) and, while making note of the fact that a proposal had been made by Uribe's administration and that it hoped that common ground could eventually be reached, criticized it because they believe that any deal should allow them to decide how many of its jailed comrades should be freed and that they should be able to return to rebel ranks. On September 5 , what has been considered as a sort of FARC counter proposal was revealed in the Colombian press. The FARC-EP is proposing that the government declare a "security" or "guarantee" zone for 72 hours in order for official insurgent and state negotiators to meet face to face and directly discuss a prisoner exchange. Government military forces would not have to leave the area but to concentrate in their available garrisons, in a similar move to that agreed by the Ernesto Samper Pizano administration (1994-1998) which allowed the rebel group to free some captured police and military. In addition, the Colombian government's peace commissioner would have to make an official public pronouncement regarding this proposal. If the zone was created, the first day would be used for travelling to the chosen location, the second to discuss the matter, and the third for the guerrillas to abandon the area. The government would be able to chose as the location for the "security zone" among one of the municipalities of Peñas Coloradas, El Rosal or La Tuna, all in Caquetá department, where the FARC has clear rebel influence. Some analysts have considered that this rebel proposal would also be seeking to reduce the pressure that recent military offensives may be exerting against the insurgents in , 2004 and accessed November 11 , 2006 . On , 2004 and accessed November 11 , 2006 . On December 2 , the government announced the pardon of 23 FARC prisoners, to encourage a reciprocal move. The FARC ignored the gesture, and the 23 rebels released were all of low rank and had promised not to rejoin the armed struggle. The government is hoping to win the release of dozens of hostages, including three US citizens. In November, the FARC rejected a proposal to hand over 63 (the numbers vary between 59 and 63) of its captives in exchange for 50 guerrillas imprisoned by the government. In a communique dated , 2006 and accessed November 11 , 2006 . They state that this area would lie outside the "area of influence" of both their Southern and Eastern Blocks (the FARC's strongest) and that of the military operations being carried out by the Uribe administration. They request security guarantees both for the displacement of their negotiators and that of the guerrillas that would be freed, which are specifically stated to number as many as 500 or more, and ask the Catholic Church to coordinate the participation of the United Nations and other countries in the process. The FARC-EP also mention in the communique that Simón Trinidad 's Extradition , which has been approved by the Supreme Court but still lacks the president's go-ahead, would be a serious obstacle to reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with the government. On December 17 , 2004 , the Colombian government authorized Trinidad's extradition to the United States, but stated that the measure could be revoked if the FARC released all 63 (political and military) hostages in its possession before December 30 . The FARC did not accept this demand. Partial Prisoner Release On , 2006 . In a communique, the FARC had stated that this move was in part a consequence of a secret meeting between former minister Álvaro Leyva Durán and FARC's Manuel Marulanda in December 2005. Details of the meeting had been publicly disclosed in the February 26 edition of the Colombian newsweekly ''Semana''. Leyva Durán was subsequently engaged in a political campaign as a presidential candidate. The FARC also reiterated its position to negotiate a prisoner exchange in the future, without dealing with current Colombian President Álvaro Uribe. In a separate series of events, civilian hostage and German citizen Lothar Hintze was released by FARC on April 4 , 2006 , after five years in captivity. Hintze had been kidnapped for extortion purposes, and his wife had paid three ransom payments without any result. Another prisoner named Julian Ernesto Guevera Castro died of heart failure in December 2005. He was a police captain and was kidnapped on , 2006 . {Link without Title} FARC has yet to return his body to his family. Another hostage, Fernando Araújo Perdomo , the current Minister of Foreign Relations and former Development Minister, escaped his captors on December 31 , 2006 . Araújo had to walk through the jungle for five days before being found by troops in the hamlet of San Agustin, 350 miles north of Bogotá. He was kidnapped on December 5 , 2000 while exercising in the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena. He was reunited with his family on January 5 , 2007 . {Link without Title} Another hostage, Jhon Frank Pinchao , escaped his captors on April 28, 2007 after nine years in captivity. He was reunited with his family on May 15, 2007. 46 political hostages are currently being held by the FARC. Death of 11 hostages See Also: Valle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisis On June 28 , 2007 , the FARC reported the death of 11 out of 12 kidnapped provincial deputies from the Valle Del Cauca Department . The Colombian government has stated that FARC executed the hostages and stated that the government's forces had not made any rescue attempts. FARC claims the deaths occurred during a crossfire, after an attack on one of its camps by an "unidentified military group". The guerrillas did not report any other casualties on either side. {Link without Title} . FARC has stated that it is willing to return the bodies to their families, but has yet to do so. INVOLVEMENT OF IRISH BOMB-MAKERS The " Colombia Three " were three prominent Irish republicans – Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley – arrested and accused of travelling on false passports on 11 August 2001 while waiting for flights out of the country. They had spent five weeks in a demilitarized southern zone of Colombia, then under the control of the FARC. In 15 February 2002 they were charged with training FARC rebels in bomb-making. The trial closed on 1 August 2003 with a verdict which found them guilty of travelling on false passports and they were given sentences of up to 44 months. They were found not guilty on the charges relating to training FARC rebels and were released in June 2004 upon payment of fines. An appeal court overturned the original trial verdict on 16 December 2004 , and convicted the men of training the rebels, sentencing them to seventeen years. However, by this time they had returned to Ireland. According to RAND Corporation , beginning in early 2001 FARC sharply intensified its operations, killing more than 400 members of the Colombian armed forces in 18 months with car bombs and homemade mortars. FARC then expanded its campaign into Colombian cities. The February 2003 bombing of the El Nogal Club in Bogotá was attributed to the guerrilla group by authorities, investigators and prosecutors. FARC themselves denied any involvement. RAND Corporation p.73 Radio-control appeared, a significant technological leap, and the Colombian armed forces recovered mortars believed to be similar to those used by Irish republicans in Northern Ireland. SEE ALSO
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