1 Origins in Bloodshed
In the 1940s, Colombia was engulfed in one of the most brutal civil conflicts of the 20th century. Known as La Violencia, this political war between the Liberal and Conservative parties led to the formation of death squads and claimed around 200,000 lives in under ten years. The aftermath left the country deeply fractured.
As part of a 1949 peace accord, the Liberals and Conservatives formed a coalition government that excluded all other political groups. In response, the Colombian Communist Party urged rural peasants to arm themselves and resist state authority. In Colombia’s lawless countryside, some of these militias gained enough strength to establish semi-autonomous enclaves, one of which was the so-called Republic of Marquetalia—a tiny community of about 1,000 people.
To the Colombian government, even this symbolic rebellion posed a threat. In 1964, the army launched a military assault on Marquetalia, reducing it to rubble. Only 48 armed communist fighters managed to escape. Though defeated and scattered, these survivors regrouped and resolved to take their fight to a national level. They called themselves the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—better known as FARC.
2 From Margins to Menace: The Drug Trade Pivot
Between 1964 and 1982, FARC operated mostly in obscurity. Their forces grew to around 1,000 fighters, and they carried out sporadic attacks on military targets, but they remained just one of many rebel groups. That changed at their seventh leadership conference in 1982.
Realizing their traditional strategy of mobilizing peasants wasn’t enough, FARC turned to a far more profitable venture: the cocaine trade. It was a turning point that compromised their ideological purity but gave them access to immense financial resources. At the same time drug lord Pablo Escobar was becoming one of the world’s richest men, FARC was securing its own slice of Colombia’s booming narco economy.
Flush with cash, the group expanded rapidly. By the mid-1980s, their numbers had tripled. Their new strategy, dubbed the centrifugal model, involved spreading their influence by establishing new fronts across the country. The plan was to surround the capital, Bogotá, and choke off its supply lines—an ambitious goal that many initially laughed off. But by the 1990s, no one was laughing anymore.
3 Military Training and Territorial Control
The cocaine-fueled expansion allowed FARC to build international alliances. Fighters were sent to the Soviet Union for military training, learning tactics that transformed the group from jungle guerrillas into a highly organized army.
By the 1990s, FARC controlled nearly a third of Colombia’s territory—an area larger than Germany. Roads leading out of major cities like Medellín and Cali were monitored by guerrillas looking for high-value kidnapping targets. Bogotá itself became increasingly isolated, surrounded by hostile forces.
FARC believed they were on the brink of toppling the government. They even began training members in civil administration, confident they would soon be running the country. For ordinary Colombians, these years were defined by fear, violence, and the constant threat of abduction.
4 Law 002: Kidnapping for Profit
Unlike groups like ISIS, which often kill civilians as a tactic of fear, FARC preferred to keep them alive—for ransom. By the late 1990s, the group was kidnapping an estimated 3,000 people annually, making nearly as much money from hostage-taking as from drug trafficking.
In 2000, FARC formalized its abduction policy under Law 002, a chilling addition to their internal rulebook. Any Colombian with over $1 million in assets was expected to “donate” 10% to the cause—or risk having family members kidnapped. To show they meant business, they kidnapped a three-year-old child and held him in captivity for 18 months. Terrified families began making treks into rebel-controlled territory to pay off the extortion demands. The tactic worked. FARC’s influence expanded while the population remained subdued and terrorized.
5 Terror in the Streets: Indiscriminate Bombings
Despite claiming to stand for justice, FARC repeatedly used mass violence to make headlines. In 1995, during an outdoor concert in Medellín, the group planted a bomb that killed 23 people and wounded dozens more. The twisted remains of a sculpture, Pájaro de Paz (“Bird of Peace”), still mark the site.
Such attacks continued. In 2003, a car bomb detonated beneath a popular Bogotá nightclub killed 32 people, including six children, and injured over 200. Though FARC publicly distanced itself from targeting civilians, it developed a deadly, improvised mortar system with help from the Irish Republican Army. These mortars were inaccurate by design and often hit unintended targets.
In one of the deadliest incidents, a mortar meant for rival guerrillas struck a crowded church in the town of Bojayá in 2002, killing 79 civilians in an instant.
6 Assaults on the Nation’s Leaders
In 2002, Colombians watched in horror as mortars rained down during the inauguration of President Álvaro Uribe. Though Uribe survived, dozens were killed—including residents of a nearby slum. FARC had long denied responsibility for the murder of Uribe’s father in the 1980s, but this attack made their intentions unmistakable.
That same year, they kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt during a campaign stop. Held in a jungle prison for six years, she emerged traumatized and broken. FARC’s message was clear: no one, not even national leaders, was beyond their reach.
7 The Silent War Against Soldiers
Military forces were frequent targets, with FARC orchestrating brutal assaults designed to demoralize the army. In 2000, 500 fighters stormed the town of Dabeiba, killing dozens of soldiers and downing a helicopter full of reinforcements. Similar attacks in the 1990s left hundreds dead.
But FARC also launched a subtler campaign of terror. In 1999, they began assassinating off-duty soldiers during their home leave. By year’s end, over 60 had been murdered this way, bringing the horrors of war into civilian life. Many others were captured and held in degrading conditions amounting to crimes against humanity.
8 Child Soldiers and Manipulation
Perhaps the darkest aspect of FARC’s legacy is its use of child soldiers. While all sides in the conflict used minors, FARC and the ELN were responsible for the majority. Children as young as 12 were indoctrinated, given weapons, and placed in command roles. By 15, many were seasoned fighters.
Recruitment was often manipulative. Girls were enticed with makeup and new clothes. Former child soldiers have recalled being forced to undergo or perform late-term abortions. Those who tried to escape were hunted down and killed.
9 Peace Talks Turned Tragedy
Despite its increasing brutality, FARC entered peace negotiations with President Andrés Pastrana in the late 1990s. In a bold (and ultimately misguided) move, Pastrana granted FARC a demilitarized safe zone the size of Switzerland, hoping to foster dialogue.
Instead, the rebels used the zone to regroup and expand. They launched fresh attacks, captured entire towns, and executed police officers while still pretending to negotiate. Even when they mocked ceasefire proposals and continued their offensive, Pastrana responded with more concessions. By 2002, it was clear FARC had exploited the peace process to grow stronger, with no intention of disarming.
10 A New Enemy: The Three-Way War
As the government failed to contain FARC, another violent actor emerged: the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group born from the remnants of the Medellín cartel. Formed in 1993 and tacitly supported by President Uribe’s allies, the AUC launched a scorched-earth campaign against FARC-held communities.
Villages suspected of harboring FARC sympathizers were decimated. Civilians were brutally tortured, mutilated, and executed. The AUC’s reign of terror rivaled or even surpassed FARC’s in sheer savagery.
Soon, Colombia found itself caught in a brutal three-way conflict as FARC, AUC, and the ELN vied for territory. In one 2002 battle near the town of Campamento, 200 people died in a single day. By the early 2000s, over six million Colombians had been displaced—making it one of the worst refugee crises on Earth at the time.
In 2006, the AUC demobilized under a peace deal. FARC had been severely weakened, but at a terrible cost. The AUC had killed more civilians in just over a decade than FARC had in forty years.