HomeNewsBriefELN Release Kidnapped Oil Workers, Call for Colombian Oil Tax
BRIEF

ELN Release Kidnapped Oil Workers, Call for Colombian Oil Tax

COLOMBIA / 7 MAR 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

Eleven oil workers kidnapped last month in Colombia's northeast were released by the ELN guerrilla gorup, according to reports, following calls from the rebels for a "social tax" on oil extraction in the country.

The 11 (pictured above), who had been working on the Bicentennial Pipeline in the department of Arauca, were handed over to a humanitarian delegation on Tuesday. They had been kidnapped on February 28 by members of the National Liberation Army's (ELN) Domingo Lain Font, reported El Pais. The number of victims was originally reported to be nine.

On Monday, the ELN posted a statement on its website saying that it would reconsider its "offensive against oil infrastructure" if the government complied with six demands, including imposing a "social tax" of $10 per barrel of oil extracted in Colombia. This should be paid by multinationals and handed directly to communities affected by extraction, the group said.

InSight Crime Analysis

The news that the ELN were behind the kidnappings is not a surprise, as the other guerrilla group active in the area, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), recently declared that they would cease kidnapping civilians.

The ELN are relatively small players in kidnapping in Colombia, accounting for roughly 10 percent of all cases last year, compared to the FARC's 26 percent. The fact that they are not deeply involved in the business makes their offer to cease targeting oil companies more credible, as kidnapping oil workers constitutes only a fraction of their group's finances.

Despite the ELN's resurgence in recent months following its dip over the last decade, it has long had its sights set on peace negotiations, perhaps more so than the larger FARC. Though it is unlikely the government will impose the proposed social tax on oil, the ELN's offer to cease attacks does not necessarily ring hollow.

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

BRAZIL / 7 OCT 2022

Latin America's environmental and land protectors are routinely murdered by the regions criminals.

COLOMBIA / 4 JUL 2022

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

COLOMBIA / 4 AUG 2023

Leader Iván Márquez’s latest resurrection improves the Second Marquetalia's prospects, but the EMC approaches peace talks from a stronger position.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…