The terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) planned a massive extortion scheme this year to alleviate its severe financial problems, according to e-mails analyzed by Colombian security forces in recent months.
The terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) planned a massive extortion scheme this year to alleviate its severe financial problems, according to e-mails analyzed by Colombian security forces in recent months.
The e-mails came from laptops seized by the Colombian National Army from a FARC encampment in February 2014. Since then, nearly 50 Colombian National Police investigators and intelligence officers have spent months combing through the messages for intelligence.
They reveal that even as the FARC participates in peace talks with the government in Havana, it is actively planning and engaging in criminal enterprises. Some of the e-mails show that the terrorist group is experiencing financial difficulties, in part because of the successful efforts of the Colombian military and police. In one e-mail, FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri – known as “Timochenko” – acknowledged the terrorist group has been “weakened” because of the work of the Colombian Armed Forces and police, with support from the United States.
Colombia and the U.S. are cooperating in the fight against the FARC and other terrorist organizations, primarily by sharing information and resources.
FARC extortion schemes detected
To try to improve its finances, the Southern Bloc of the FARC planned on engaging in a series of extortion schemes against large businesses, according to an e-mail from the spring of 2013.
The FARC planned on demanding $1 million (USD) from petroleum companies for every active oil well, and a payment of (USD) $5 for every barrel of oil extracted.
“In areas where there are mines for gold, emeralds, gravel (…) we will impose a 20 percent fee on production,” one of the e-mails says. The FARC planned on forcing government contractors to pay 10 percent of their profits to the terrorist group. For example, the FARC planned on charging companies which pave highways a minimum of 30 million pesos. Some e-mails even suggested the FARC invest in Ecopetrol stock.
The Eastern Bloc of the FARC also sought alternative sources of revenue. Since at least 2011, it has engaged in alternatives to drug trafficking to raise revenue, such as selling cattle, some of the captured e-mails show.
“The most worrisome part is really that, after analyzing these figure [sic], which are partial, it’s clear that we are burning our money,” one FARC e-mail said. “And if we keep going at this rate, selling 2,000 head of cattle every four months, we’ll have about a year and some odd months left.”
In the department of Meta, located in the southeastern part of the country, the FARC’s financial situation was so dire that the leaders of the Eastern Bloc were constantly asking their subordinates to compile accounting reports on the state of their investments, so they can monitor what is going on with every last cent. Some members of the terrorist group suggested increasing revenue through kidnappings in areas under the influence of its 53rd Front, which is controlled by FARC leader Henry Castellanos Garzón, also known as “Romaña.” In 2012, his group had debts in excess of $1 million (USD) according to some of the e-mails.
Bold operation leads to seizure of FARC computers
A bold operation by Army soldiers led to the capture of the computers which contained the FARC e-mails.
In February, Army troops attacked a FARC encampment near the municipality of Vista Hermosa, in the department of Meta, where leaders of the Eastern Bloc were gathered. Eight FARC terrorists were killed and the survivors fled, leaving behind computers and encrypted flash drives.
The FARC e-mails show that the terrorist group is fragmented, with various fronts struggling on their own to raise revenue.
“The great insight from these emails is that the guerrilla forces no longer have a system for the different fronts to work together,” said Daniel Rico, a Colombian security analyst. “Where before there were various fronts that were united and each worked on specific links in the drug production chain, now there are scattered groups struggling to survive without relying on or lending support to each other.”
“The FARC are not as wealthy as we believed. If we examine the accounts, we must conclude that each guerrilla unit, after 50 years of fighting, is left with less than 20 million pesos ($10,000 USD).”
The terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) planned a massive extortion scheme this year to alleviate its severe financial problems, according to e-mails analyzed by Colombian security forces in recent months.
The e-mails came from laptops seized by the Colombian National Army from a FARC encampment in February 2014. Since then, nearly 50 Colombian National Police investigators and intelligence officers have spent months combing through the messages for intelligence.
They reveal that even as the FARC participates in peace talks with the government in Havana, it is actively planning and engaging in criminal enterprises. Some of the e-mails show that the terrorist group is experiencing financial difficulties, in part because of the successful efforts of the Colombian military and police. In one e-mail, FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri – known as “Timochenko” – acknowledged the terrorist group has been “weakened” because of the work of the Colombian Armed Forces and police, with support from the United States.
Colombia and the U.S. are cooperating in the fight against the FARC and other terrorist organizations, primarily by sharing information and resources.
FARC extortion schemes detected
To try to improve its finances, the Southern Bloc of the FARC planned on engaging in a series of extortion schemes against large businesses, according to an e-mail from the spring of 2013.
The FARC planned on demanding $1 million (USD) from petroleum companies for every active oil well, and a payment of (USD) $5 for every barrel of oil extracted.
“In areas where there are mines for gold, emeralds, gravel (…) we will impose a 20 percent fee on production,” one of the e-mails says. The FARC planned on forcing government contractors to pay 10 percent of their profits to the terrorist group. For example, the FARC planned on charging companies which pave highways a minimum of 30 million pesos. Some e-mails even suggested the FARC invest in Ecopetrol stock.
The Eastern Bloc of the FARC also sought alternative sources of revenue. Since at least 2011, it has engaged in alternatives to drug trafficking to raise revenue, such as selling cattle, some of the captured e-mails show.
“The most worrisome part is really that, after analyzing these figure [sic], which are partial, it’s clear that we are burning our money,” one FARC e-mail said. “And if we keep going at this rate, selling 2,000 head of cattle every four months, we’ll have about a year and some odd months left.”
In the department of Meta, located in the southeastern part of the country, the FARC’s financial situation was so dire that the leaders of the Eastern Bloc were constantly asking their subordinates to compile accounting reports on the state of their investments, so they can monitor what is going on with every last cent. Some members of the terrorist group suggested increasing revenue through kidnappings in areas under the influence of its 53rd Front, which is controlled by FARC leader Henry Castellanos Garzón, also known as “Romaña.” In 2012, his group had debts in excess of $1 million (USD) according to some of the e-mails.
Bold operation leads to seizure of FARC computers
A bold operation by Army soldiers led to the capture of the computers which contained the FARC e-mails.
In February, Army troops attacked a FARC encampment near the municipality of Vista Hermosa, in the department of Meta, where leaders of the Eastern Bloc were gathered. Eight FARC terrorists were killed and the survivors fled, leaving behind computers and encrypted flash drives.
The FARC e-mails show that the terrorist group is fragmented, with various fronts struggling on their own to raise revenue.
“The great insight from these emails is that the guerrilla forces no longer have a system for the different fronts to work together,” said Daniel Rico, a Colombian security analyst. “Where before there were various fronts that were united and each worked on specific links in the drug production chain, now there are scattered groups struggling to survive without relying on or lending support to each other.”
“The FARC are not as wealthy as we believed. If we examine the accounts, we must conclude that each guerrilla unit, after 50 years of fighting, is left with less than 20 million pesos ($10,000 USD).”
That is Santos’ version of peace, that is the frailty of Colombia’s legal representative. Instead of strengthening the fight by every means attacking financial logistical fronts, support, arms purchases, fighters, militias, guerrilla fighters infiltrated as students at the different universities, high-level unemployed public servants, politicians pretending to be Polo de Moir, PCC, etc. attacking illegal mining which belongs in great percent to the guerrilla. Stop extortion, Mr. President you are the only who swallows frogs and crocodiles as a whole. The Colombian people now know where the peace process is headed, may God take us after we’ve confessed as the grandmothers say, we want peace, not to have the state surrendered to a bunch of criminals and bullies. The core still needs to be targeted. Infiltrated guerillas as students from different universities, high ranking public officials.