Drawing the Colombian conflict

GOC = Government of Colombia
ARMY = National Army
AUC = Auto Defensa Colombiana (paramilitaries)
FARC = Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombia (guerrilla)
ELN = Ejército de Liberación Nacional (guerrilla)

P = People (civilians)

*AUC have officially demobilised between 2003 and 2006.
For the Govt of Colombia there are no longer paramilitaries involved in the conflict (However, I add, they are back and regrouping)

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I know what you´re thinking now. Yes, it's complicated.

Colombia's protracted conflict has many battlefronts across most regions. Beside confrontations among armed actors, the VIOLENCE is characterised by attacks and threats against civilians. Threats are used to indimidate and maintain the domination of illegal groups over the land and force farmers to develop illicit crops such as coca.

Under the current administration, with the financial help of US, anti-insurgency and anti narcotics campaigns have weakened FARC and ELN. However, they have resulted in breaches of internation humanitarian and human rights law by all parties and the offensive has led to massive displacements of the rural poulation.
Re-grouping of paramilitaries and other illegal groups, attacks and blockades by the guerrilla, army presence as counterinsurgency, forced confinements, forced recruitment, victims of landmines, land confiscation, air fumigations to erradicate coca fields that instead damage food crops are ONLY some of the problems.

1. The offensive by the GOC and the Army to regain the 'lost land' is aggravating the humanitarian problem.

2. Military offensive = more violence = more people displaced = more landmines = more civilian victims

3. To regain the land is a lot more to do with economic interests, exploit rich natural resources with multinational taking over farmers and indigenous land with their own 'development projects'.

4. In the drug chain is normally farmers who cultivate coca, the guerilla collects and process it, and it is sold to other illegal groups or paramilitaries or directly to the drug lords who look after the distribution.

IT MUST BE CLEAR THEY ARE ALL FIGHTING FOR THE CONTROL OF TERRITORY, FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND FOR ILLICIT BUSINESS.