Plan Colombia and Beyond

When we found out in late May that longtime FARC leader Manuel Marulanda was dead, many observers predicted an upsurge in guerrilla violence as (1) the group sought to show that it was still militarily viable and (2) new leader “Alfonso Cano” sought to assert his authority.

That prediction appears to be accurate, as the tempo of FARC activity appears to be increasing. Since the announcement of Marulanda’s death and Cano’s succession, the FARC have carried out the following attacks on both military and civilian targets.

• Attacks with explosives in Norte de Santander department shut down the Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline.
• Four attacks with explosives in Bogotá, including one in a police station in the Suba neighborhood in the city’s northwest.
• Combat forces displacements in Zaragoza, Antioquia.
• Attacks on electric power pylons, trains transporting coal, and burning of trucks at roadblocks in La Guajira department.
• An ambush on a police patrol near the border between Valle del Cauca and Quindío departments.
• Army patrols killed by landmines in Antioquia and Quindío.
• Attacks with explosives on police stations in Granada and Tarazá, Antioquia.
• Attack with explosives on a police station in Caguán, Huila.
• Attacks on electric power pylons in Patía, Cauca.
• Five attacks on civilians and military personnel in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca.
• An attack on a helicopter in Puerto Guzmán, Putumayo.

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