Security Council

Agenda: The Columbian Issue

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction 3

2. Historical background 3

• Pablo Escobar 3

• Los Pepes 4

• Columbian drug industry in the 1990’s 4

• Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 4

3. Facts about measures 6

1. Paramilitary groups in Colombia 6

2. Colombian Government 6

3. US support to the Colombian government 6

4. Support from the international community 7

4. Issues to be addressed 8

1. Introduction

The drug problem in not only Colombia but also the whole of Latin America is a very pressing matter as demonstrated by the fact that 9 of the 10 most notorious drug lords in history are from this very region. This begs the question: Why are we discussing the Situation in Colombia only and not the whole of Latin America. The answer is in the fact that the US interest in Colombia in conjunction with FARC makes it a more delegate and fragile issue which cannot be discussed as a part of the Latin American drug issue.

2. Historical background

The Colombian government has been fighting a battle against drugs for the better part of the last 5 decades. However, the drug production of Colombia is still one of the largest in the world and the government of Colombia has not managed to deal with this problem triggering the US to start an ineffective campaign in support of the Colombian government. Today, Colombia is a major exporter of drugs and the FARC along with other guerrilla forces get stronger by the day as peasants opposing to the military presence of the US army which has been there for the better part of the past 3 decades attempting to support the Colombian army in their fight against drug cartels are starting to offer their services to the guerrilla forces.

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar is a self made billionaire and the most notorious drug lord in the history of mankind. His glory days came during the mid 1980s when he had control over as much as 80% of the global cocaine market. However, he is mostly known for his ruthlessness as at one point he put a $1000 bounty for the head of any policeman $10 000 for the head of Hugo Martinez, the head of Search Bloc – a special task force tasked with capturing Escobar and $100 000 for the head of any American liaison officer operating with Search Bloc. Another instance where his lack of respect for human life can be demonstrated by the fact that he once actually shot down a civilian plane from mid air in order to silence 2 informants. It was Escobar that introduced concept of corruption at all levels of government and the military to facilitate his drug industry. During his time under voluntary house arrest he simply got out of his mansion surrounded by 400 of Colombia’s most elite soldiers sent to apprehend Escobar for violating the terms of his arrest and the cross of apprehending him didn’t even cross the minds of any of the 400 soldiers. Search Bloc finally managed to neutralize Escobar on the 2^nd of December 1993 during yet another chase where he was killed on a rooftop. However his legacy remains as the most notorious drug lord in history.

Los Pepes

Los Pepes were a group which carried out assassinations of numerous associates of Pablo Escobar. Initial suspicion was that these murders were carried out by members of Search Bloc as each one of its members had a list of high profile targets on which were the names of all the victims of Los Pepes. This greatly concerned the US government which almost pulled out all military and financial assets out of Colombia stating that they were not prepared to support a government that had anything to do with unlawful assassinations of criminals.

Columbian drug industry in the 1990’s

After the death of Pablo Escobar, Search Bloc was tasked with bringing down the Cali cartel which became the leading drug producer in Colombia as the Medellin cartel which was under the control of Escobar was left crippled with his death. Although it didn’t take long for the leaders of the Cali cartel to be apprehended or murdered, the drug industry of Colombia was not dismantled as the Colombian government and the US had hoped. Instead, the drug production of Colombia has been divided between numerous small drug cartels which are next to impossible to detect which has only made the situation more complex.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

FARC is the best equipped, trained and funded guerrilla force in Latin America with its main source of funding being from the drug industry. Although its stronghold is in southern Columbia with almost half the country under its control, it also has members operating in the rest of Columbia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia as well as numerous other South American countries. They have been involved in a lasting civil war with the Columbian government for decades and without an end to this war, a solution to the drug problem seems to be an unlikely possibility. Even though the FARC has started suffering its first major losses in recent years, they are far from losing.

Their origins can be traced back to 1948 when a number of Communist Party sympathizers sought refuge from a civil war between the Liberal and Conservative parties which would last 15 years and leave 200 000 people dead in southern Colombia. They would first be reoffered to as the in FARC 1966. As of today, the FARC has control over a territory the size of Switzerland in Southern Columbia has thousands of loyal supporters.

During the course of their existence the FARC has constantly revolutionized their strategy to cope with the changing circumstances. In the 1970’s they started imposing taxes on a handful of marijuana growers in the south of the country and had expanded those taxes to include cocaine laboratories within the area of control.

In 1984, in an apparent strive for peace, the FARC would start peace talks with the Colombian government and would launch a party, the Patriotic Union (PU). Their presidential candidate of 1986 would win 300 000 votes which remains a record for any left candidate with the party getting a handful of seats in the Columbian congress. During Colombia’s first municipal elections in 1988, the UP would win 16 mayoral and 247 city council posts greatly angering drug lords and opposition within the government who carried out assassinations of 3000 UP members over a six year period and all talks of peace were ceased. However, during the hay day of UP from 1984 to 1988, the FARC managed to double in size due to numerous reasons including attacks on UP members which forced many to abandon hopes of peace and to pledge allegiance to the FARC

During the early 1990’s the FARC were forced by the Colombian government to spread its assets throughout the countryside and to employ a more offensive strategy following an aerial bombing of their headquarters in 1991. During the mid 1990’s which was arguably the height of power for the FARC, they managed to conduct numerous perfectly executed operations on policemen and battalions of soldiers leading to the capture of hundreds of soldiers and policemen which would later be traded for large chunks of area in Caquetá and Meta which is more or less equivalent to the size of Switzerland in are. In February 2003, the FARC captured 3 US contractors doing surveillance in the area after their plane crashed.

Although the FARC has ahs a centralized command, they have along the lines of 70 devolved units who are in charge of their own affairs and the central command i.e. Secretariat only has control of special units which tend to be stationed where they are most needed or where they are on an special operation. FARC also has command of militias in some Colombian cities and can call upon the expertise of vast amounts of logistics experts in bombing, kidnapping, human trafficking and so on.

In the eyes of many, the FARC is preparing for a lengthy war with the Colombian government by employing a strategy similar to those of the Japanese during the battle of Iwo Jima and the Vietcong in Vietnam by building roads and tunnels.