The alarming picture of armed groups in Colombia

The peace treaty between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has taken a back seat in the nation's daily landscape. Five years after the end of armed violence, Colombia is beginning to witness how that past seems to be coming back to life.

In recent weeks, several incidents have shaken the country, threatening its peaceful state. The Colombian army carried out an intervention in the Amazon, killing ten dissident FARC members, including one of the leaders known as "Ferney". 

Meanwhile, another attack in Chocó killed the high commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN), alias "Fabián", and killed four minors in its intervention. In addition, in the southern Colombian city of Tumaco, authorities reported the murder of five people, making it the 72nd massacre so far in 2021.

Throughout this year, Colombia has experienced a spike in homicides, forced displacement, clashes between armed gangs and drug trafficking. Certain parties have blamed the government of Iván Duque and its lack of action in defence of peace for this new wave of violence. 

The Colombian president said in a recent interview that "in the three years of our government, more progress has been made than in the first 20 months of peace implementation", in reference to the government of his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos.

According to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), the escalation of violence is partly due to the constant change and uncertainty in the motivation of armed groups. These changes are also evident in the younger generations that make up these groups, as their political convictions lack strength, and are oriented towards avoiding confrontation with the security forces.

The strengthening of the guerrillas in the 1980s and 1990s led to the creation of paramilitary organisations that were organised to put down rebellion, defend private property and prevent communism from coming to power.

In 2003 the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia demobilised through a peace agreement signed with then President Álvaro Uribe, but since then various groups have emerged to take over their symbols, especially their territories and links to drug trafficking, known as neo-paramilitary groups.

Clan del Golfo, also known as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia and Los Urabeños, is the main neo-paramilitary group that makes its living from drug trafficking, human trafficking and extortion. Official figures estimate that some 4,000 people belong to this group.

"Their focus is territorial control and they operate under paramilitary practices, with killings, threats, curfews and social control", says Crisis Group researcher Elizabeth Dickinson.

These groups call themselves dissidents because of their rejection of the peace process implemented in Colombia in 2016, which ended the mobilisation of Latin America's largest armed group of more than 13,000 guerrillas.

These FARC dissident groups, in turn, are divided into three distinct fronts. The most important of these is the Southeast Bloc, led by commanders Gentil Duarte and Iván Mordisco, and made up of 2,700 members, according to a report by the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz).

There is also the Segunda Marquetalia group, led by aliases Iván Márquez and El Paisa, who have their largest refuge in Venezuela, with 2,000 combatants. Finally, there is the Western Coordinating Command, with eight structures and 500 people in its ranks.

It is estimated that there are between 30 and 40 post-FARC groups, but their motivation, according to the BBC, is neither nationally articulated nor aimed at overthrowing the president. Between them, they agree on territories of action and the distribution of cocaine production.
 

After the Peace Agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016, the National Liberation Army (ELN) became the largest guerrilla group in the country. General Luis Fernando Navarro Jiménez, commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, estimates that the ELN has a total of around 2,350 fighters.

"It is the last truly guerrilla group, in the sense that it has political ideals, wants to overthrow power in Bogotá and does work not only with the communities, where it sets rules and organises, but within its ranks, where there is military and ideological training", explains Crisis Group researcher Elizabeth Dickinson.

To control criminal rents such as illegal mining and gasoline trafficking, the ELN has had to expand rapidly across Venezuela. In the states of Zulia, Táchira, Apure and Anzoátegui, the ELN has strengthened, while it has gained ground in Amazonas, Bolívar, Barinas, Trujillo, Portuguesa, Lara, Falcón and Guárico. "Today in Venezuela, the ELN is engaged in illegal activities related to gasoline smuggling, mining and extortion," says an NGO report.

Colombia stands out as a country where illegal and fraudulent activities have increased their presence. As in the 1980s, the Colombian nation is the world's largest cocaine producer, according to UN figures. 

In addition, illegal mining, smuggling and trafficking of people and animals are also thriving in the country. All these criminal acts have led to the emergence of illegal armed groups that manage illegal movements and whose action generates an emergency that is difficult to contain.

The government of Iván Duque points to the international scene as a promoter of drug trafficking in the country, due to the fact that demand is concentrated in developed countries. "It is time for the international community to take joint responsibility," Duque recently stated.

The situation that Colombia is going through is serious, which is why it is not possible to speak of peace in its society, although it is true that the facts are not comparable to the reality experienced by Colombians during the 60 years of confrontation between the state and insurgent movements.

"There is no return of war, but rather very localised conflicts that do not have the national scope of before," said Juanita Vélez, a researcher at the Core Foundation.

The war may have come to an end in Colombia, but peace remains an unfinished business. 

Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.