SUMMARY
FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army) was formed with the backing of the Communist Party in 1966, with the aim to bring down the Government of Colombia as well as to end “U.S. imperialism” and achieve extensive socio-economic reform. In the early 1980s, it became involved in the illegal drug trade, which became an important source of finance for FARC’s struggle. Also in the early 1980s, right-wing paramilitary forces were formed in Colombia in close relationship with the emerging drug industry, most of them with the purpose of protecting drug barons from the guerrilla movements. The paramilitary groups also became connected to the government’s counterinsurgency operations, and received training and weapons from the Colombian military. In 1997, a nationwide paramilitary structure was created in the form of the umbrella organization AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia).
AUC justified its struggle with the claim that it was defending the state against communism and disintegration, but most analysts argue that its interests were mostly linked to the drug industry. AUC reportedly had substantial support from elements in the army, although the government did not officially support them. AUC and FARC have been engaged in non-state armed conflict and have clashed on numerous occasions, both in the context of AUC support for the government’s campaign against the guerrillas and in competition over stakes in the illegal drug industry and, consequently, control over territory. From the late 1990s, AUC reportedly succeeded in taking over control of many coca-growing areas from the guerrillas. AUC has been strongest in the Middle Magdalena Valley and in the north, while FARC has traditionally been strongest in the coca belt stretching from southern Nariño, in south-western Colombia, to eastern Vichada, in the east of the country. Some of the most intense fighting between the groups has taken place in the most prominent drug-producing areas. However, there have also been reports of agreements of peaceful coexistence between FARC and AUC groups in some areas, in order to prevent the fighting from interfering with the drug industry. Apart from the non-state violence between FARC and AUC, both parties have also conducted one-sided violence against civilians perceived as supporters of the opponent.
The non-state conflict between AUC and FARC is first included in UCDP data in 1997. In late October that year, fighting in Antioquia province caused the death toll to exceed 25 battle-related deaths.
