Colombian Strategies and Operational Concepts Used in Today's Counterterrorism Warfare

Colombia has been involved in an internal conflict since 1949. The assassination of the political leader, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, initiated a violent era between the traditional political parties. In 1964, the first guerrilla movement would officially establish under the name of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. FARC, a Marxist-Leninist communist movement would influence the destiny of the country. Other communist armed movements such as the National Liberation Army would emerge later. In 1994, a new armed movement called the United Self defense of Colombia would begin. This was a group that was created by part of the population to protect themselves from the guerrilla's kidnappings and extortions, but later became illegal because of the use of illegitimate force and drug trafficking. The illegal groups that initially were established as insurgent guerrillas or self defense organizations soon became narco terrorist organizations. They began using indiscriminate terrorist attacks not only against military forces but against the population and the infrastructure. Today those illegal groups finance their activities with drug production and trafficking worldwide. Together Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe Velez, the military and the police forces have been implementing strategies and operational concepts that have dramatically influenced the internal conflict. Even though terrorist threats have not been neutralized, it has diminished. Terrorist key leaders have been killed in combat and their armed capability is no longer as big of a threat to Colombian democracy. These strategies and operational concepts might be employed by different armies with similar threats to their terrorist threat.