HomeNewsBriefColombia Asset Seizures Raise Doubts About FARC Peace Deal Compliance
BRIEF

Colombia Asset Seizures Raise Doubts About FARC Peace Deal Compliance

COLOMBIA / 20 FEB 2018 BY PARKER ASMANN EN

Authorities in Colombia have seized properties linked to the FARC guerrilla group whose estimated value adds to evidence that the now-demobilized rebels under-reported their assets, contravening part of a 2016 peace deal meant to provide reparations for victims.

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office announced in a February 19 press release that it had arrested several individuals in connection with an alleged scheme to launder hundreds of millions of dollars over two decades through a chain of small supermarkets tied to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC).

Authorities seized assets valued at more than 650 billion pesos (around $234 million), including five companies, 60 supermarkets, 70 bank accounts, numerous residential and commercial properties and more than two dozen vehicles, according to the press release.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Money Laundering

A portion of the recently seized assets was allegedly owned by the Chaux González family, who acted as frontmen for Tomás Molina Caracas, alias “Negro Acacio,” the principal fundraiser for the FARC's Eastern Bloc until his death in 2007.

The 15 billion pesos (around $5.4 million) worth of assets seized from the Chaux González family were obtained with money delivered to the family by Negro Acacio, according to the press release. The assets were allegedly the fruit of drug trafficking activities carried out by family patriarch José Hugo Chaux Cuéllar and the former guerrilla.

InSight Crime Analysis

The large-scale seizure of FARC-linked assets is likely to reinforce the perception that the rebel group is not fully committed to the terms of the peace agreement, particularly when it comes to using its assets to provide reparations for victims.

As part of the peace deal, the FARC listed the total value of its assets at $332 million. However, as InSight Crime has reported, there is a strong likelihood that dissident elements of the guerrillas did not declare the entirety of their assets.

The seizure -- in a single operation -- of assets worth an estimated 70 percent of the FARC’s declared wealth adds to strong evidence that the group's true wealth is far greater than what it has claimed.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of FARC Peace

The mounting speculation that the FARC is not complying with the terms of the peace agreement could also have ramifications in presidential elections scheduled for May.

Opponents of the FARC peace deal have long claimed that the rebel group can't be trusted to hold up its end of the agreement. The issue of undeclared FARC assets could give a boost to critics of the deal, in addition to undermining the already-struggling political vehicle of the demobilized rebels, the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común – FARC).

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 13 SEP 2022

President Petro's Total Peace Plan offers high reward but carries equally high risk for criminal groups and for all of…

BOLIVIA / 1 APR 2022

Millions of young people around the world document their experiences at work, at school or with their friends on TikTok.

COLOMBIA / 4 JUL 2022

While the death of Iván Márquez is yet to be confirmed, his passing would mark a major turning point in…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…