The Aguilas Negras, or Black Eagles, emerged from the failures of the demobilization process between 2004 and 2006, which aimed to disarm the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC). They are a non-cohesive group dedicated to protecting the economic interests of former mid-level paramilitary commanders scattered across Colombia. At times, Aguilas Negras was the generic term used by the government to describe the many fragments of ex-paramilitaries still trafficking drugs across Colombia. Often, the paramilitary successors who have continued threatening or murdering journalists, lawyers and human rights activists have done so using the Aguilas Negras name. This political bent, along with their lack of a central leadership, distinguishes them in part from the other criminal bands operating in Colombia.

The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN) is one of the two main guerilla armies with left-wing political ideologies operating in the Colombian territory. Initially a Marxist-Leninist nationalist movement, it now appears more focused on kidnapping, extortion and attacks on economic infrastructure. And while it eschewed drug trafficking for decades, it has recently been linked to the narcotics trade and has sought alliances with large drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). Militarily, it has been greatly debilitated and has dropped from an estimated 5,000 soldiers in the early 1990s to close to 1,000.

As the biggest irregular guerrilla army in Colombia, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) operates in different regions of the country mainly in search for financial sources to fight their 40-year old war against the government and maintain their army. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) is the oldest and most important guerrilla group in Western Hemisphere. It has long financed its political and military battle against the Colombian government by kidnapping, extortion and participating on various levels in the drug trafficking business.

Colombian criminal group the Paisas are trying to appropriate the drug smuggling networks once controlled by the paramilitaries, but unlike their rivals they are more disorganized and prone to infighting. The Paisas first emerged as a rural militia linked to the criminal syndicate known as the Oficina de Envigado and portions of a paramilitary group known as the Minero Bloc, but it is now considered its own independent drug-trafficking organization. It is plagued by infighting within its own ranks, as well as a brutal, ongoing feud with competitor groups over access to smuggling routes to the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.