National Liberation Army (Colombia)
The National Liberation Army is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla insurgency group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocates a composite communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism and liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union.
ELN guerrilla: Priest Camilo Torres among the peasants of Colombia.
"Neither Surrender, Nor Deliverance" reads the poster of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional at the National University of Colombia.
Protest march against ELN kidnapping: "So, what about those [people] kidnapped by the ELN?"
The Colombian conflict began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups and crime syndicates, and far-left guerrilla groups, fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Some of the most important international contributors to the Colombian conflict include multinational corporations, the United States, Cuba, and the drug trafficking industry.
Top left: FARC guerrillas during the Caguan dialogues. Top right: Displaced people. Center left: National Police during the Palace of justice siege. Center right: Death of Pablo Escobar. Bottom left: peace talks during the government of Juan Manuel Santos. Bottom right: Fredy Iturre Klínger (center) cries after seeing his half-brother killed in the Battle of Gutiérrez, 1999.
Colombian military, soldier.
US General William P. Yarborough was the head of a counterinsurgency team sent to Colombia in 1962 by the US Special Warfare Center. Yarborough was one of the earliest proponents of "paramilitary [...] and/or terrorist activities against known communist proponents".
The of Peace and Memory: A "memorial" to the victims of the conflict. In Colombia, April 9 is a symbolic day. It is a day of remembrance and solidarity with the conflict's victims.