Colombia’s biggest and oldest guerrilla group FARC has started a
campaign of urban terror to secure its survival, National Police chief
Oscar Naranjo said Tuesday.
A year after the FARC was weakened by the death of its two top leaders and the rescue of fifteen of its highest-value hostages, the rebel group has unleashed a wave of bombings in the country’s cities, Naranjo told television network Bloomberg.com..
Through this, the guerrillas — now short of territory — aim to heighten fear in populated areas, he said.
“They are looking for ways how to make the most possible impact,” the Police Chief said. “[The FARC] still has the capacity to inflict harm”, he admitted.
“Last year was a terrible year for the FARC,” Naranjo added. “That’s why the rebel group’s leader Alfonso Cano needed to change tactics.”
Risk analyst Andres Villamizar believes that terrorism is the new weapon. “It’s easier to attack civilian targets than fight military battles, so we can expect to see a lot more of this.”