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2. FARC–Hezbollah: The success of Venezuela–Iran proxy groups and their convergence in the Americas
- Author:
- Jeferson Guarin P.
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- Persistence and adaptation are the main characteristics that have allowed FARC and Hezbollah to become perhaps the most successful proxy groups in recent years. Both Iran and Venezuela have sponsored the military, political and criminal actions of these alleged insurgent organisations. The main objective of this research was to identify and conceptualise the mitotic evolution of FARC and Hezbollah from purely armed organisms into consolidated political organisations in Colombia and Lebanon, and how this evolution has presented a criminal convergence in Venezuela based on drug trafficking and money laundering. This article is based on a comparative case-study of published research papers, documents, and official statements of FARC and Hezbollah, by applying a rational perspective that allows their performance to be deduced. The research results showed a constant mutation of these hybrid threats. Thus, not only was the political and military success of these organisations established but also the strategic support of a criminal dimension which converged in Venezuela, where the FARC drug trafficking and Hezbollah money laundering were amalgamated. Consequently, the investigation exposes the possible consequences of the FARC-Hezbollah criminal convergence in the Americas and its destabilising effects in the next decade.
- Topic:
- Narcotics Trafficking, Hezbollah, Drugs, FARC, Destabilization, Money Laundering, and Proxy Groups
- Political Geography:
- Iran, South America, and Venezuela
3. Un Laboratorio de Guerra en Antioquia: Desmitificando la Victoria Paramilitar y la Desaparición de las Guerrillas
- Author:
- Jerónimo Ríos
- Publication Date:
- 05-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
- Institution:
- Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
- Abstract:
- Uno de los aspectos menos investigados sobre el conflicto armado colombiano es la coincidencia espacio-temporal de guerrillas y grupos paramilitares. Es decir, cómo afectó a los niveles de presencia y activismo guerrillero la aparición de un actor como el paramilitarismo. Al respecto, la consideración tan predominante como, en pocas ocasiones, poco contrastada, pasa por atribuir una derrota a las guerrillas allí donde el paramilitarismo obtuvo un mayor arraigo. Tomando como estudio de caso el departamento de Antioquia, tradicionalmente, un escenario de gran presencia tanto guerrillera como paramilitar, se busca analizar la afectación de este último a las dinámicas de la violencia y obtener así una aproximación más sólida a una de las aristas más intrincadas del conflicto armado y que requiere de trabajos de mayor profundidad e investigación.
- Topic:
- Violence, Armed Conflict, Paramilitary, and FARC
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
4. Squaring Colombia’s Circle: The Objectives of Punishment and the Pursuit of Peace
- Author:
- Paul Seils
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- This paper weighs the possible modes and competing policy objectives of punishing FARC members for serious crimes in the context of Colombia’s ongoing peace negotiations. It argues that punishment has to occur in a way that does not damage one of the underlying objectives of the peace process, transforming the FARC from an insurgent group into a political actor. According to the paper, to meet policy objectives: 1) trials must be public, accessible, transparent, and serious; 2) punishment should include the possibility of offenders meeting with victims so that they can express their suffering; and 3) measures of punishment should include disagreeable consequences, such as financial penalties, asset seizure, temporary exclusion from political office, and community service orders, as well as reformative measures.
- Topic:
- Armed Forces, Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice, Accountability, and FARC
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
5. The Colombian peace process: paradoxes and dilemmas
- Author:
- Juan Gabriel Tokatlian
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The parties to the conflict in Colombia are relatively close to a final agreement, but obstacles remain. Internal tensions remain high in Colombia, despite the advances in Havana, and the need to promote a “pedagogy for peace” is urgent in light of these tensions. In particular, the transformations and adjustments required to achieve a successful peace and not just a temporary reduction of violence need to be focused on. A NOREF-Universidad Di Tella seminar in Buenos Aires concluded that the government-FARC negotiation process is gradually becoming a fact of Colombian politics, but frictions will grow as peace becomes more likely. The issues of land, the state and the rule of law will remain central to Colombian society and therefore to the peace process. In a problem-filled global environment, peace in Colombia could be a positive factor. The U.S. has not undermined the peace negotiations as it did under previous Colombian administrations, while the participation of Latin America will be significant in building peace in Colombia.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements, Non State Actors, FARC, and Peace Process
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
6. Negotiations and possible spoilers in the Colombian peace process
- Author:
- Jorge M. Battaglino
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) have generated considerable attention among the international community and a substantial level of domestic political support. This optimistic trend is linked to a new negotiating dynamic in which the government decided to abandon a militarised approach to the conflict and acknowledged the guerrilla movement as a legitimate political actor, while the FARC-EP opted to moderate its historical radical demands. The reasons behind this mutual moderation are both strategic and the result of a social learning process (i.e. the “prolonged” conflict). This encouraging scenario, however, faces two potential challenges, i.e. to neutralise the emergence of spoilers of the peace talks and deal with the fragmentation/criminalisation of the FARC-EP. This expert analysis analyses the new negotiating dynamic, identifies the main challenges to the peace process, and indicates how guarantor states and the international community can contribute to reducing domestic political opposition in order to reach a durable agreement.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, FARC, Dialogue, Peace Process, and Spoilers
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
7. Illicit drugs and peace negotiations in Colombia: challenges for the government and the FARC
- Author:
- Mónica Serrano
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- This expert analysis critically assesses the political implications of the inclusion of the issue of illicit drugs in Colombia’s peace negotiations. It considers the ways in which the parties have approached the drug problem and lays out some of the critical questions regarding drug policy options. It also discusses what these negotiations tell us about the parameters within which drug policy reform may be realistically pursued in Colombia, which could also affect regional and international approaches to the issue. Drug policy reform has already prompted some searching questions in Latin America and an increasingly heated global debate. In the course of ongoing negotiations between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia the parties agreed to include the question of illicit drugs as the negotiations’ fourth agenda item, which is likely to test the process’s capacity to achieve far-reaching change. More than any other country (perhaps with the exception of Mexico), Colombia has shown that drug control policy needs urgent rethinking, as does the way in which the policy is applied. Will the peace negotiations mark a turning point in Colombia’s drug policy? And through the negotiations, will Colombia lead the way towards a more visionary international drug policy?
- Topic:
- Negotiation, Drugs, FARC, and Peace Process
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
8. Drugs and the peace process in Colombia: a moderate radical step
- Author:
- Juan Gabriel Tokatlian
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- This expert analysis evaluates the May 16th 2014 agreement on illegal drugs reached between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels in the context of the peace process taking place in Havana. This third agreement between the parties is very significant in its content and scope. If it progresses satisfactorily it will be the beginning of a gradual end to the “war on drugs” in the country and will defuse one of the issues – the drug trade – that has most hindered the attainment of peace in Colombia.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements, Drugs, FARC, and Peace Process
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
9. Sealing a Colombian peace deal: challenges of citizen ratification
- Author:
- Silke Pfeiffer
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- While a peace agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government seems to be within reach, a number of substantial and procedural issues might still cause controversies. One such topic is the question of how a potential peace agreement should be ratified. Both parties have made clear that ratification should involve direct citizen participation. The FARC’s proposal for a broadly mandated Constituent Assembly is effectively not politically viable. Other constitutional options have practical, political and legal implications. A final formula will need to deal with the armed group’s concern for the legal security of its members while rapidly generating a political mandate to proceed with implementation. The inevitable time lag between signature and ratification will most certainly become a political liability because the FARC is likely to refuse to lay down its weapons in this period. With low levels of trust between the parties and a society deeply sceptical of the guerrilla’s intentions to abandon the armed struggle, all sides will feel the need to be protected against risks of non-compliance. The greatest risk related to citizen ratification remains non-approval, because large parts of the population continue to be sensitive – if not opposed – to the idea of granting wide-ranging concessions to the FARC. Mobilising a strong political and social majority behind the peace process and a potential deal is a priority if a final agreement is to survive popular scrutiny and become a foundation for lasting peace.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements, Non State Actors, FARC, and Peace Process
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
10. The search for a negotiated peace in Colombia and the fight against illegal drugs
- Author:
- Sandra Borda
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The issue of illicit drugs has played a radically different role in the ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana compared with the peace process in El Caguán ten years ago. There are two differences. Firstly, while in El Caguán President Pastrana aligned himself with the war on drugs as it stood at the time through the design and implementation of Plan Colombia in order to strengthen the state’s military apparatus, President Santos has adopted a more revisionist attitude by calling for a global debate intended to produce changes to the current war on drugs. And secondly, in contrast to Pastrana, Santos has chosen not to dwell on claims about the close links between the FARC’s insurgent activity and the production and trafficking of illicit drugs. Additionally, the report suggests that these differences are explained by the role the U.S. played in both negotiations: while it was active and crucial in El Caguán, its absence from the Havana has been notable, but also rather convenient. This absence, in turn, is explained by the fact that Washington has fewer interests at stake and more limited resources for intervening, at the same time as the Colombian government no longer has an urgent need for aid.
- Topic:
- Crime, War on Drugs, Negotiation, Peace, Drugs, and FARC
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America