Why Did FARC Start?

During the period of La Violencia (after the 1940s) in Colombia, more than 2,00,000 people were brutally killed. The military under General Gustavo Rojas seized power as the Colombian Liberal Party lost control in 1953. However, communists and certain other groups resisted because of some guerilla units that were set up by the Colombian Communist Party. In order to fight General Gustavo Rojas and the whole state, the FARC was established. Although, as per the current scenario, its critics alleged that FARC had gone beyond the ideology when they cited the FARC’s involvement in the drug business and many other illegitimate operations.

FARC stands for The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, founded in 1964, is Colombia’s largest rebel group. The group was established as the armed wing of the communist party and followed a Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Apart from having some urban groups, they always have been a part of rural guerilla organizations. The land workers and the small farmers founded the most prominent rebel group of Colombia after getting banned together.

The primary purpose of establishing this group is to fight the appalling levels of inequalities in Colombia. FARC’s main enemy is the Colombian security forces. They have attacked the police stations, military posts and ambushed patrols. They have targeted and killed many civilians for their revenge against the Colombian forces by bombing social clubs, blowing oil pipelines and bridges. FARC is also indulged in ransom activities and has kidnapped numerous civilians.

FARC has more than 10,000 members, of which between 6000 to 7000 are estimated to be active fighters. The group is subdivided into small tactical groups to facilitate their training programs and prepare them to become larger fighting units. FARC is controlled by its top leader Rodrigo Londono Echeverri. The Secretariat also controls it, and a group of commanders conceiving the strategy. (See Why do humans join groups?)

It has been perceived that FARC is one of the wealthiest rebel movements in the world. Colombia is one of Cocaine’s biggest suppliers of due to which the organization gets a huge amount of money from drug trafficking. They are also involved in kidnapping and extortion to fill their exchequer.

From the past 2 decades, many of the senior leaders of FARC were killed by the Colombian army and police, including Manuel Marulanda- the founder of FARC who died naturally and Raul Reyes, who was killed in a bombing raid. Also, another chief leader Alfonso Cano was killed in a bombing raid by the police in 2011. Furthermore, the active fighters have been reduced from 20,000 to 7,000 after thousands of fighters were killed. Now, even Colombia FARC guerillas prepare themselves finally for peace. (See How Did the Americans Win the Revolutionary War?)