2023-12-01 15:21:58
Groups with local and national impact, such as the ELN, the ‘Second Marquetalia’ and the FARC-EP continued to be the most latent terrorist threat in the Western Hemisphere throughout 2022, according to what the State Department said this Friday when delivering its annual report on the fight against terrorism in the world.
(Read here: Peace with the ELN: the tensions surrounding the beginning of the fifth cycle of dialogues)
The conclusion, very similar to that of past years, is part of a balance sheet made by the United States in which it also says that corruption, the weakness of government institutions and the lack of interagency cooperation continued to be obstacles to improving the security situation. .
“Terrorism remained a security concern for some countries in several parts of the Western Hemisphere in 2022. Transnational terrorist organizations have a limited presence with small groups of supporters in the region. Nationally or locally oriented groups, such as the Liberation Army Nacional (ELN), Segunda Marquetalia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (Farc-EP) in Colombia and Venezuela, and Sendero Luminoso in Peru continued to be the most important terrorist threats in the region,” the report says.
ELN has replaced the FARC as the most powerful armed group not only in Colombia, but also in Venezuela
In the specific case of Colombia, the report summarizes the total peace efforts of Gustavo Petro’s government since he assumed the presidency and affirms that the ELN has replaced the FARC as the most powerful armed group not only in Colombia, but also in Venezuela.
It also mentions that in 2022 “the Second Marquetalia, Farc-EP and the ELN, groups considered terrorists by the United States, continued to commit acts of terrorism throughout the country, including bomb attacks, violence against the civilian population, kidnappings and “violent attacks against military and police facilities. The Colombian Ministry of Defense recorded a 131 percent increase in terrorist acts in 2022, compared to 2021.”
In particular, it highlights several cases.
Among them, an attack on January 7 in Cali attributed to the ELN, in which more than a dozen police officers were injured, and another attack on March 5, perpetrated by the FARC-EP in Ciudad Bolívar against a police station.
What the State Department says about Venezuela
In the case of Venezuela, the State Department report once again insisted that the Nicolás Maduro regime continued to offer “sanctuary” to Colombian criminal groups and highlights that elements of the State cooperate with these organizations.
Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela
Photo:
Presidential Press
“The Maduro regime continued to engage in criminal activities through usurpation of the judicial system and ties to military and security services that foster corruption and other illicit purposes. The regime cooperates with non-state armed actors where its interests align, including providing safe haven for terrorist groups of Colombian origin designated by the United States, such as the ELN, the FARC-EP and the ‘Second Marquetalia,'” the report says.
The report adds that the permissiveness of the regime has allowed these groups to operate in large areas of the territory to obtain profits from illicit activities and establish financial ties with elements of the Venezuelan State.
“The regime,” the report states, “selectively deals with non-state armed groups, sometimes cooperating and other times confronting them through conflict. In Venezuela, the ELN is known to establish symbiotic relationships with military and security officials to facilitate and protect drug and human trafficking routes and other forms of illicit activity. The ELN has experienced significant growth and expansion since the FARC demobilized in 2017. Credible open source researchers estimated that the ELN has a presence in 40 Venezuelan municipalities in eight states , more than double the geographic reach of the FARC dissidents.”
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
TIME CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
1701451680
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