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How Colombia's Conflict Evolved Over Decades

by Associated Press

   The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Colombia's President Juan Manuel
   Santos is likely to give a boost to the country's efforts to end a
   half-century of hostilities with leftist rebels. The Associated Press
   explains how the conflict began and developed over the decades.

   How it started
   The 1948 assassination of populist firebrand Jorge Eliecer Gaitan led
   to a political bloodletting known as " The Violence.'' Tens of
   thousands died, and peasant groups joined with communists to arm
   themselves.
   A 1964 military attack on their main encampment led to the creation of
   the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
   What the rebels wanted
   Though nominally Marxist, the FARC's ideology has never been well
   defined. It has sought to make the conservative oligarchy share power
   and prioritized land reform in a country where more than 5 million
   people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias in
   the service of ranchers, businessmen and drug traffickers.
   The FARC lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping, extortion and
   taxes on cocaine production and illegal gold mining to fund its
   insurgency.
   How the US got involved
   In 2000, the United States began sending billions of dollars to counter
   drug-trafficking and the insurgency under " Plan Colombia,'' which
   helped security forces weaken the FARC and kill several top commanders.
   The State Department classifies the FARC as a terrorist organization
   and its leaders face U.S. indictments on drug-trafficking charges.
   The human toll
   More than 220,000 lives have been lost, most of them civilians, and
   almost 8 million people have been driven from their homes in the
   conflict. In the past two decades, most of the killings were inflicted
   by the militias, which made peace with the government in 2003.
   The FARC abducted ranchers, politicians and soldiers and often held
   them for years in jungle prison camps. Its captives included former
   presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military
   contractors, all of whom were rescued in 2008.
   Peace efforts
   Mid-1980s peace talks collapsed after death squads killed at least
   3,000 allies of the FARC's political wing. Another peace effort fell
   apart in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a
   senator.
   The latest peace talks began formally in 2012 and concluded last month
   when a deal was signed by Santos and FARC leader Timochenko. A few days
   later, however, it was narrowly rejected by Colombian voters in an Oct.
   2 referendum, forcing both sides back to the drawing board.

   The accord included provisions on land reform, combating drug
   trafficking, guerrillas' political participation and punishment for war
   crimes on both sides. It also clears the way for an estimated 7,000
   FARC fighters will lay down their weapons to U.N. observers.