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Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)
(aka Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia)
Organization and Leadership
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FARC founder Manuel Marulanda.
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The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) is a well-equipped and organized Marxist guerilla group that
carries out attacks against political and military targets inside
Columbia. The group raises money for its cause through for-profit
kidnappings, bank robberies, and extortion, but it is through the
drug trade where the group earns the lion's share of its profits.
It is estimated that FARC collects $300 million a year through taxing
coca growers and other agricultural interests.
Manuel Marulanda (aka "Tirofijo" or "Sureshot") founded the group
in 1966 and still leads the organization's secretariat, which consists
of six members. Another of the six, Jorge Briceņo, (a.k.a. el Mono
Jojoy) is the group's military commander. FARC has an estimated 9,000-12,000
armed members and wide support amongst Columbia's rural population.
The group controls a Switzerland-sized region in southeast Colombia
ceded to it in 1998 by the government to induce peace negotiations.
FARC occasionally attacks targets in Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador
as well.
FARC military leader Jorge Briceņo.
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FARC utilizes an array of weaponry in its
military operations including AK-47 assault rifles, M60
machine guns, M16
rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades, M79 grenade launchers,
and land mines. It allegedly acquires weapons from Cuba and from rogue
elements of the Venezuelan army. It also reportedly purchases weapons
from international criminal organizations in Brazil and Mexico.
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What's Next:
Ideology
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