Few criminal activities can inflict more pain and anxiety than kidnapping. The recent announcement by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that the organization would stop kidnapping for ransom is a cause for celebration and renewed hope. Although the FARC’s drug trafficking and illegal gold mining operations still generate violence across Colombia, this is clearly a firm step toward reopening the possibility of peace talks in a country torn by decades of internal conflict.
Originally operating under a Marxist-Leninist philosophy, the FARC is the oldest revolutionary guerrilla group in the Americas, with almost 50 years of armed struggle against neo-imperialism and the Colombian government. In recent decades, the organization has orchestrated mass kidnappings, such as the abduction of 60 soldiers during an attack on the Las Delicias Military Base in 1996. The FARC is now discussing the release of the remaining 10 military and police officers, who it has held captive for more than a decade.
Approximately three months ago, the FARC’s highest-ranking leader, Alfonso Cano, was killed during a military operation. His replacement, Timoleón “Timochenko” Jiménez, does not enjoy as much control of FARC bases as the organization’s founder, Manuel “Tirofijo” Marulanda (Spanish for “sure shot”), who died in 2008. While there is always the possibility of FARC members returning to their old ways, a reduction in kidnapping rates would be a victory for the Colombian government.
Neighboring Peru has witnessed the decline of the once-powerful Shinning Path, a Maoist movement that posed a major challenge to the state during the 1980s and early 1990s. The decline of FARC may not be far behind. The governments of Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos have effectively weakened the FARC by reducing its number of militants from approximately 20,000 to 9,000 in the last decade. However, it will take more leaders in the region — especially from the United States — to tackle drug consumption and trafficking, the primary economic engines of both the FARC and other transnational criminal organizations in the hemisphere. Until then, highly welcome efforts to improve security — including the FARC’s intention to abandon its policy of kidnapping for ransom — will still fall short of the comprehensive approach needed to address drug-related political violence in the Americas.
Erika de la Garza is the program director of the Latin America Initiative at the Baker Institute. She is in charge of the Latin America Initiative programs, which include the Americas Project, the U.S.-Mexico Border Program and the Vecinos Lecture Series. Her chief areas of interest include U.S.-Latin American relations; emerging leadership; coalition building between public, private and civil society actors; and trade and business development in Latin America.