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Colombia’s EMC Holds ‘Total Peace’ Hostage in Cauca
At the heart of the conflict in Cauca is control of territory peppered with illegal gold mines, coca and marijuana crops, and a bridge connecting Colombia to…
Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace (Paz Total) policy seeks to put an end to the country’s decades-long armed conflict by negotiating with Colombia’s main criminal groups.
The government has held talks with the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), factions of dissidents of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), and a myriad of smaller urban gangs in key cities like Buenaventura and Medellín. But none have achieved any lasting agreements, and the chances of even a partial peace seem slim.
In this special series, InSight Crime tracks the Total Peace policy’s effects on organized crime.
Articles in this Series
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Criminal Profiles
National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN)
The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) is Colombia’s last true insurgency and one of Latin America’s most powerful criminal organizations. Due to its expansion and strengthening in Venezuela in recent years, it has established itself as a binational guerrilla group.
Criminal Profiles
Central General Staff – Ex-FARC Mafia
The Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC) is a federation of dissident fronts of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) that decided not to embrace the peace process signed in 2016 between that guerrilla group and the Colombian government.
Criminal Profiles
Second Marquetalia
The Second Marquetalia is a group made up of former FARC guerrillas who refused to demobilize after the group’s peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016. It is led by one of the most influential former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) leaders, Luciano Marín Arango, alias “Iván Márquez,” who took up arms again in 2019 after abandoning the peace process.
Criminal Profiles
Gaitanistas – Gulf Clan
The Gaitanistas, also known as the Gulf Clan, Urabeños, and Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), emerged from the ashes of Colombia’s paramilitary movement to become the dominant criminal force in Colombia, with national reach.
Criminal Profiles
The Shottas
The Shottas are one of the leading criminal groups in Colombia’s port city of Buenaventura. The group gained notoriety due to its fierce and violent rivalry with the city’s other principal criminal group, the Spartans (Espartanos).
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