Terrorism in Colombia has occurred repeatedly during the last several decades, largely due to the ongoing armed conflict the country has been involved in since 1964. Perpetrators of

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

acts in the country range from leftist

guerilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run t ...

forces including

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

, ELN and M-19, to

drug cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when th ...

s such as the

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...

, to right-wing paramilitary forces including the AUC.

Terror groups

Notable groups involved in terror attacks include: *

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

(FARC) * National Liberation Army (ELN) *

19th of April Movement The 19th of April Movement ( es, Movimiento 19 de Abril), or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla organisation movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance (), or AD/M-19. The M-19 traced its or ...

(M19) * Medellin Cartel * AUC

Counterterrorism efforts

During the early 21st century, the number of known and suspected terrorists killed, captured, or surrendered fell as terror groups changed their tactics, while casualties rose. The

(FARC) reverted to hit-and-run attacks rather than engage in large unit encounters. In November, 2011, security forces killed FARC leader Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas, also known as "Alfonso Cano."

Demobilization and reintegration efforts

Colombia has employed a multi-agency approach to countering radicalization and discouraging

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

's program focuses on encouraging individual members units of the FARC and ELN to demobilize and reintegrate into society. Demobilization and reintegration programs provide medical care, psychological counseling, education benefits, and

job placement An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

assistance. Recidivism rates were estimated at between 10 and 20 percent by the Colombian Agency for Reintegration. Additionally, the Ministry of Defense has organized a number of public

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

s and social events with celebrity participation to discourage the recruitment of vulnerable youth."2013 Report."
State Department. Accessed February 11, 2015. In 2013, a total of 1,350 FARC and ELN members had demobilized.

Attacks

2011

* February 11, 2011 – Five

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

s were killed in San Miguel, Putumayo in a mortar attack. The mortar was fired by suspected FARC terrorists and landed near a police post along with a baby. * June 25, 2011 – Suspected ELN rebels attacked a police outpost in Colon Genova, Narino, using explosives and small-arms fire. Eight civilians were killed. * September 18, 2011 – Several mortars were launched at an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

base in La Macarena,

Meta Department Meta () is a department of Colombia. It is close to the geographic center of the country, to the east of the Andean mountains. A large portion of the department, which is also crossed by the Meta River, is covered by a grassland plain known a ...

. The attack injured several civilians. * October 30, 2011 – The armored convoy of Albeiro Vanegas, Vice President of the House of Representatives was attacked by suspected ELN terrorists. Vanegas was unharmed, but his driver was killed."Chapter 2: Country Reports, Western Hemisphere Review. 2011 Incidents."
''US State Department''. Accessed January 30, 2015.

2017

* June 17, 2017: Centro Andino bombing – An explosion at the Centro Andino

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

killed 3 people. The attack was condemned as a terrorist attack and the authors remain unknown.

2018

* January 27, 2018: 2018 Colombia police stations attacks – Two hand grenades were thrown at the

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...

s of Barranquilla and

Santa Rosa del Sur San Rosa del Sur () is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia, around 720 km away from the department's capital, Cartagena. Municipalities of Bolívar Department {{Bolivar-Colombia-geo-stub ...

, killing seven officers and one perpetrator. The ELN was responsible for the attack.

2019

* January 17, 2019:

2019 Bogotá car bombing On 17 January 2019, a vehicle was driven into the General Santander National Police Academy in Bogotá, Colombia. The truck forced its way into the facility, hit a wall and detonated, killing 22 people (including the perpetrator) and injuring ...

– The guerrilla rebel group ELN took the responsibility of the explosion of a car bomb inside the

General Santander National Police Academy General Santander National Police Academy (or ''Escuela General Santander de la Policia Nacional'' in Spanish) is the main educational center for the Colombian National Police. The academy functions as a university for the formation of its force. ...

. The attack killed 21 people and injured several others.

References

{{Americas topic, Terrorism in