Bogotá/Brussels, 26 February 2014: Bringing the National Liberation Army (ELN) into the current round of negotiations is vital for durable peace. In its latest report, , the International Crisis Group examines the opportunities for talks between Bogotá and the National Liberation Army (ELN). As the Havana-based peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, look increasingly promising, pressure is growing to open a...

Douglas Farah, security analyst for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), testified before the House Subcommittee on Terrorism this past Tuesday. The hearing highlighted the Colombian FARC's ties to other terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and international drug cartels, as well as the FARC's involvement in political activities in the Latin American region. After replying to questions on matters of regional security and the Colombian FARC's links to...

To secure a lasting peace, talks between Colombia’s government and FARC rebels need to include a clear, credible and coherent plan for reckoning with decades of human rights abuses. In its latest report, , the International Crisis Group proposes a model for transitional justice in the context of the promising negotiations between the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end decades of civil conflict. This requires that...

But another significant, and so far less widely discussed, issue is coming to the fore - if and when peace is achieved, what role can or should the Colombian military play? Much of the focus to date has seemingly been around the possible demobilisation of the several thousand Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels who have been fighting the Colombian state for almost five decades. "People are talking about the demobilisation of the Farc," retired Col Hugo Bahamon...

After decades of failed negotiations and attempts to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) militarily, a political solution to the Western Hemisphere’s oldest conflict may be in sight. Following a year of secret contacts, formal peace talks with FARC are to open in Oslo in October 2012 and continue in Havana. They may be extended to the ELN. There seems a firmer willingness to reach an agreement, as the...

Early in October, peace negotiations will take place between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Oslo, Norway. If successful, the talks will continue in Havana, Cuba. These talks are taking place against the backdrop of major military victories by the Colombian army against the FARC, the elimination of key FARC leaders in the last four years, and, confirmed connections between the FARC and the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador. The upcoming...

The Americas Report has previously written about the links between Hezbollah and the Venezuelan government’s support of the FARC, stemming from the unholy anti-American alliance between the presidents of Iran and Venezuela. Since the establishment of the Iran-Venezuela Joint Bank, the relationship has moved from a passive appreciation to a more active support role, which it is speculated will lead to increased funding for Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Troubling developments included...

Admired by the Colombian guerrilla after his coup attempt in 1992, the then lieutenant colonel Hugo Chávez Frías received financial support by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) for his projects after his capture that year. This mostly explains the relationship and "debt" between the parties, as revealed by a paper of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of the United Kingdom. With data retrieved from the computers of slain leader...

"I think the United States sees everything upside down, at least part of the world," said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in an October 2010 interview. "It's hard to imagine the destiny of this [U.S.] society. But of course we have to hope for the better, for the winds of change coming from the south." Latin America and the Western hemisphere face serious challenges today, threatening regional stability and U.S. national security. First and foremost among them is Hugo...

Terrorist groups and armed insurgents regularly exploit illicit markets to launder money, traffic illegal goods, and purchase arms. In such an environment, the line between armed political organizations and criminal groups appears to break down. However, through a comparative study of paramilitary groups and Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-FARC) in Colombia, this article finds that group goals, the political environment, and membership...