NAME: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1964.
GOALS: Replacing the current government with a Marxist regime.
MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: In March 1999, the FARC executed three U.S. Indian rights activists in Venezuela after it kidnapped them in Colombia.
STRENGTH: Approximately 9,000 to 12,000 armed combatants and an unknown number of supporters, mostly in rural areas.
OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Colombia with some activities — extortion, kidnapping, logistics — in Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador.
AFFILIATIONS: Cuba provides some medical care and political consultation.
COMMENTS: Established as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party. FARC continues peace negotiations with the Pastrana administration, which has granted the group several concessions, including a demilitarized zone used as a venue for negotiations. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.
DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1964.
GOALS: Replacing the current government with a Marxist regime.
MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: In March 1999, the FARC executed three U.S. Indian rights activists in Venezuela after it kidnapped them in Colombia.
STRENGTH: Approximately 9,000 to 12,000 armed combatants and an unknown number of supporters, mostly in rural areas.
OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Colombia with some activities — extortion, kidnapping, logistics — in Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador.
AFFILIATIONS: Cuba provides some medical care and political consultation.
COMMENTS: Established as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party. FARC continues peace negotiations with the Pastrana administration, which has granted the group several concessions, including a demilitarized zone used as a venue for negotiations. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.