Guerillas continue to place bombs in acts of terror in Colombia.
On January 17, 2019 in the mid-morning a car bomb exploded at the General Santander police academy in Bogota, Colombia, killing 21 people and injuring dozens. Colombia's Defense Minister identified the National Liberation Army (ELN) as being behind the attack January 18, 2018.
Peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) stalled last year, in January of 2018, following a series of bombings that killed seven and wounded many more in an attack on a police station in Baranquilla, Colombia.
On Friday, January 18, 2019 Colombian Presdent Ivan Duque called on the Cuban government to hand over the members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) that are currently in Havana for the stalled peace talks.
Historical context
In 1964, the Cuban government was providing weapons, training, and financial assistance to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In the same year a another guerrilla movement would also emerge plunging Colombia into further violence. The National Liberation Army (ELN), after the FARC, is Colombia’s second largest leftist guerrilla group, also formed in 1964 whose founding members were not only inspired by the Communist Revolution in Cuba and Che Guevara but were also trained in Cuba when they attended "a Cuban scholarship program known as the Brigada Pro Liberación Nacional." ELN sought to overthrow the Colombian government in favor of one following the Castro model in Cuba.
According to Stanford University's Mapping Militant Organizations the April 19 Movement (M-19) guerilla group in Colombia founded in 1974 was also inspired and aided by the Castro regime. M-19 members "attended military training camps in Cuban military
academies where they learned both urban and rural forms of guerilla
warfare."
On March 1, 1982 the Castro dictatorship was placed on the list of state sponsors of terrorism less than three months after the U.S. State Department confirmed that the Castro regime was using a narcotics ring to funnel both arms and cash to the Colombian M19 terrorist group then battling to overthrow Colombia’s democratic government.
FARC, ELN and M-19 were all designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department and would also be granted safe haven in Cuba by the Castro regime for decades. These guerrilla groups in addition to terrorism also became heavily involved in narcotics trafficking to fund their violence.
The Castro regime continued funding FARC through the 1970s and 1980s. The rise to power of Hugo Chavez in 1999 led to the FARC reportedly being supplied with up to $300 million by Venezuela with the Chavez regime trading arms and oil with the terrorist group.
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| Santander police academy in Bogota, Colombia was car bombed killing 21 |
Peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) stalled last year, in January of 2018, following a series of bombings that killed seven and wounded many more in an attack on a police station in Baranquilla, Colombia.
Message from #OAS Secretary General @Almagro_OEA2015 on terrorist attack against the Santander General Police School in Colombia pic.twitter.com/izWNhOuoHa— OAS (@OAS_official) January 18, 2019
On Friday, January 18, 2019 Colombian Presdent Ivan Duque called on the Cuban government to hand over the members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) that are currently in Havana for the stalled peace talks.
“We appreciate the solidarity expressed by the government of Cuba yesterday and today we ask you to make effective the capture of the terrorists who are in your territory and deliver them to the Colombian police authorities.It will be interesting to see what the response of the Cuban government will be to this request. There is a history that needs to be looked at to understand the full context of what is going on.
Colombia asks Cuba to capture ELN leaders after attack on police academy https://t.co/zEpnoJpuTh pic.twitter.com/Trs9R89Qt2— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 19, 2019
Historical context
In 1964, the Cuban government was providing weapons, training, and financial assistance to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In the same year a another guerrilla movement would also emerge plunging Colombia into further violence. The National Liberation Army (ELN), after the FARC, is Colombia’s second largest leftist guerrilla group, also formed in 1964 whose founding members were not only inspired by the Communist Revolution in Cuba and Che Guevara but were also trained in Cuba when they attended "a Cuban scholarship program known as the Brigada Pro Liberación Nacional." ELN sought to overthrow the Colombian government in favor of one following the Castro model in Cuba.
 |
| Flaming wreckage following car bomb in Bogota on January 17, 2019 |
On March 1, 1982 the Castro dictatorship was placed on the list of state sponsors of terrorism less than three months after the U.S. State Department confirmed that the Castro regime was using a narcotics ring to funnel both arms and cash to the Colombian M19 terrorist group then battling to overthrow Colombia’s democratic government.
FARC, ELN and M-19 were all designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department and would also be granted safe haven in Cuba by the Castro regime for decades. These guerrilla groups in addition to terrorism also became heavily involved in narcotics trafficking to fund their violence.
The Castro regime continued funding FARC through the 1970s and 1980s. The rise to power of Hugo Chavez in 1999 led to the FARC reportedly being supplied with up to $300 million by Venezuela with the Chavez regime trading arms and oil with the terrorist group.
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| Protester with sign calling for true peace |
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