The Colombian government has presented a policy document of strategies to bring an end to the presence of the FARC and neo-paramilitary criminal gangs throughout the country.
“The Comprehensive Policy on Security and Defense for Prosperity” was presented by President Juan Manuel Santos, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera and members of the Colombian military’s leadership.
The main objective of the plan, as set forth in the document, is to significantly reduce the structures of the FARC guerrilla organization and of neo-paramilitary criminal organizations, as well as to put an end to drug trafficking.
Other objectives include boosting troop morale and gaining citizen trust in areas recovered by the armed forces, where there continue to be violent clashes with illegal armed groups.
The document stated that the FARC has intensified its use of traditional guerrilla warfare tactics, shying away from direct confrontation with the armed forces and relying more on the use of terrorist methods and anti-personnel mines. The report states, meanwhile, that the capacity of the guerrilla organization ELN to do harm has decreased “substantially.”
The dossier also recognizes that corruption fuels violence, stating that, “Corruption at regional and national levels has been driving forces of armed violence and weakening the state.”