by Austin Galt
As Pardo and his family made their usual way back to Bogotá, several sicarios followed behind in two cars. One of the cars sped up alongside Pardo’s car whereby the sicarios opened fire with shotguns. Pardo was hit and his wife had to step on the brakes herself to stop the car from crashing. Having safely stopped the car, she now directed her attention to her husband. He had become the latest victim of the war against the left.
With its members dropping like flies, the UP contested the 1988 regional elections and performed well below expectations. By the start of the next decade, the Patriotic Union had been all but wiped out.
In August 1990, the FARC Secretariat reported Jacobo Arenas had died of a heart attack during a meeting at the Casa Verde. He was 76 years old. However, it was later alleged that he had been killed by another guerrilla – the brother of a guerrilla whom Arenas had executed for stealing.
Jacobo Arenas had argued for continuing the peace process with the government despite the ceasefire ending a few years earlier in 1987. The FARC had broken the terms of the agreement by continuing their illegal activities such as kidnapping, but it was the attack on an army convoy between the towns of San Vicente del Caguán and Puerto Rico in Caquetá that really broke the ceasefire. The attack was, at that time, the FARC’s biggest ever blow against the government, leaving more than 25 soldiers dead.
Not long after César Gaviria became the 28th president of Colombia in 1990, the peace process with the FARC was well and truly kaput. On 9 December 1990, the Colombian military launched an offensive against the FARC’s leadership. Operation Colombia saw over 1000 elite soldiers attack the heart of the guerrillas’ stronghold in Meta, while over 40 fighter jets dropped at least 180 bombs on the area. It was all in vain.
While dozens of guerrillas had been killed, the FARC Secretariat had heard the first bombs being dropped a short walk away from their position. They escaped further into the jungle and would live to fight another day. The army had expelled the guerrillas from the area but, as was the case with Marquetalia, they would return once the military operation was over.
At the Eighth Guerrilla Conference in 1993, it was decided that in the future they would meet only on special occasions. After the attack on Casa Verde, they had to be especially cautious of congregating in large groups. A phrase repeated often at the conference was, ‘We tried it, we tried the peace and they betrayed us’.
They established that 50 percent of the guerrillas would position themselves in the mountains around Bogotá with a view to taking power, while the other 50 percent would disperse throughout the country. They also formalised the creation of large mobile columns of guerrillas dedicated to combat. This was, essentially, a move away from guerrilla warfare to more traditional warfare as the FARC became increasingly powerful.
Attacks on infrastructure also increased around this time and one such attack would lead to the worst aviation disaster in Colombia’s history. On 20 December 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 from Miami crashed into a mountain on its approach to Cali. The approach had become more risky after the FARC blew up the local radar a few years earlier. This meant the air traffic controllers in Cali could not monitor the plane and warn them of any imminent dangers. The crash left 160 passengers and crew members dead.
Ernesto Samper became the 29th president of Colombia in 1994 and under his administration the FARC would surge to their greatest levels yet. Heading into the second half of the decade, the guerrillas really began to up the ante. Kidnappings began to explode in numbers, while attacks on government forces were on a larger scale than before.
On 23 September 1994, Thomas Hargrove, an American based in the city of Cali, was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas while on his way to work at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) or International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. After being stopped at a FARC checkpoint, the guerrillas kidnapped him thinking he was a CIA operative due to his CIAT work identification. Having been moved around various camps in the mountains, he was finally released 11 months later when his family paid two separate ransoms. He wrote a book about his experience, titled Long March to Freedom: Tom Hargrove’s Own Story of His Kidnapping by Colombian Narco-guerrillas, which would provide the basis for the 2000 film starring Russell Crowe, Proof of Life.
On 12 March 1996, the FARC employed the first burro bomba or donkey bomb. The saddlebags of a donkey were filled with 60 kilograms of dynamite which blew up in front of the police station in a remote rural village in the northern state of Sucre, killing 11 officers. This new terror technique shocked the country and the guerrillas were impressed with the results.
On 30 August 1996, over 400 FARC guerrillas launched an attack on the Las Delicias military base located in the municipality of Puerto Leguizamo in Putumayo state. In the lead-up to the attack, guerrillas disguised as agricultural product vendors infiltrated the base and were given permission to participate in sporting events that the military had organised. They were allowed to film the events, however, the real purpose was to record the layout of the base.
After advancing towards the base over the previous week, the guerrillas had set up positions around its perimeter. The attack was set to commence at 10.30 pm, but a soldier on guard discovered them a few hours earlier and raised the alarm. The battle was on. The FARC fired mortars, rocket launchers, gas-cylinder bombs and grenades. The military’s ammunition reserves were running low, while their communications systems malfunctioned which delayed aerial support. And with the base only containing 110 soldiers, they were well outnumbered.
The soldiers were trying to hold out until military reinforcements arrived. But the reinforcements that were on their way had been ambushed by a guerrilla unit anticipating this military action. By the following morning, the soldiers were nearly out of ammunition and under sustained attack. Some had surrendered to the guerrillas during the night. By midday, the military’s ammunition was gone and most of the base had been overrun by the guerrillas. The last remaining soldiers surrendered and came out of the trenches only to be cut down by machine-gun fire.
The final death toll stood at 31 soldiers, while a dozen guerrillas had also fallen in combat. There were at least 60 surviving soldiers who were kidnapped and used as human shields to facilitate the guerrilla’s escape. The soldiers were held just across the border in Ecuador. After negotiations with President Samper, the soldiers were released 10 months later. In return, the government agreed to remove its military forces from the municipality of Cartagena del Chairá, Caquetá.
This decision to cede to the demands of the guerrillas would set in motion events that led to the worst defeat in the history of the Colombian military. While the government had agreed to vacate the area around Cartagena del Chairá, they hadn’t agreed to let the FARC waltz on in and control the zone. Perhaps this was naive thinking on behalf of a government desperate to free its soldiers.
Towards the end of February 1998, the military started receiving reports that the FARC were moving into the area in large numbers, intent on taking over the municipality. Military commanders attempted to stop their advance by sending in 300 troops. After a couple days of calm, half of the men took leave and they were not replaced. It was a critical error that left 150 soldiers facing down about 1000 guerrillas from several fronts.
As the soldiers entered the El Billar ravine, located in the southern part of the municipality, the guerrillas began to surround them and attack their flanks. The terrain was dense jungle and the soldiers were not familiar with the zone. The guerrillas, on the other hand, knew the region like the back of their hands. They maintained the high ground and herded the soldiers towards a jungle clearing.
On 1 March 1998, the FARC guerrillas ambushed the Colombian soldiers, attacking them with machine guns and launching mortars at their positions. Not only were the soldiers outnumbered, they didn’t have geographical maps of the area so had no idea where they were or where their enemy was. The army brigade was like a deer caught in the headlights. To make matters worse
, the soldiers had insufficient reserves of ammunition, while no air support materialised out of fear they would bomb the soldiers. It was a catastrophic stuff-up.
After three days of fighting, the bodies of over 60 dead Colombian soldiers littered the jungle. The guerrilla death toll was half that. The FARC also took 43 soldiers hostage, some of whom would not be released for more than 10 years.
It was another sterling performance from the FARC. But not only were they perfecting their military strategies, they were also concentrating on the political side of things.
By the mid-1990s, Colombia had become the world’s biggest cultivator of coca and protest marches were organised by the FARC to show that the cocaleros were not criminals but hard-working people. Many peasants were ordered by the FARC to participate in the marches which were large enough to get the government’s attention.
The FARC also implemented an electoral boycott whereby they would not allow the electoral process to proceed in their zones of influence. In the 1997 mayoral elections in Puerto Asís, Putumayo which has over 50,000 inhabitants, the FARC banned voting, using intimidation and threats against the population. On the day of the vote, all shops were closed, all transport services were suspended and all flights into and out of the local airport were cancelled. Hardly anyone voted. There were certainly no election officials who were game enough to look after the voting booths in the rural areas under the watchful eyes of the guerrillas. In the end, only a couple dozen policemen guarded a few empty voting stations in town. The eventual victor won with only a minuscule vote.
This political strategy was combined with that of ‘Vacio de Poder’ or ‘Power Vacuum’, whereby the FARC destroyed police stations and the municipal institutions. This led to many mayors and other government employees fleeing to the major cities.
At the beginning of August 1998, the FARC launched several attacks against government forces and installations. The attacks formed part of what was known as ‘La Ofensiva de Despidida’ or ‘The Goodbye Offensive’ in honour of outgoing president, Ernesto Samper. Attacks included those on the police station in Uribe, a police and army base in Miraflores in Guaviare state and on a refugee settlement in Pavarandó, Chocó. These attacks left scores of people dead in the final week of Samper’s term.
By the time the new Pastrana administration took over the reins of government, the FARC was in its strongest position ever thanks to the solid leadership of Manuel Marulanda and his top commanders. Other important leaders of the FARC’s Secretariat included Luis Édgar Devia known as ‘Raúl Reyes’, Guillermo Sáenz known as ‘Alfonso Cano’, Luciano Marín known as ‘Iván Márquez’, Rodrigo Londoño known as ‘Timoleón Jiménez’ and Víctor Suárez known as ‘Mono Jojoy’. They would guide the fortunes of the guerrilla movement as it headed into the 21st century.
The most bloodthirsty, cold-hearted and merciless of all the guerrilla leaders was Mono Jojoy. His parents had been communist insurgents with the Comunes. Thereafter, his mother became the personal cook for Jacobo Arenas. Tirofijo became his mentor while Jacobo Arenas later made him his head of security. He became a confirmed member of the Secretariat at the Eighth Guerrilla Conference in 1993.
He received his nickname at an early age. Mono is an affectionate term for males with blond hair. As to the second part of his name, when Jacobo Arenas taught Colombian history to the children of guerrillas, he would have to call out to Mono to return to class and when he did the rest of the children, for whatever reason, would all shout ‘jojojoy’ (which is perhaps similar to hoi, hoi, hoi in English). Mono Jojoy was born.
It was Mono Jojoy’s brother, known as Grannobles, who had ordered the death of the three US environmental activists in Arauca in 1999. Colombian authorities intercepted radio transmissions revealing that he killed them after getting drunk. He was reportedly executed on orders from the FARC Secretariat in 2012 for the crime of insubordination after he had refused to rejoin the battlefield. He had become too accustomed to a life of parties, liquor and hookers. Such is the life for those communists in power!
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Cajamarca is set in a picturesque canyon surrounded by lush, green mountains. I felt like getting off the bus to take it all in. Its beauty, however, is at odds with the violence that has plagued the area. Several soldiers and policemen have been killed by guerrillas as recently as 2011.
Thankfully, there were no guerrilla checkpoints on this trip and the bus continued on towards Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, where some passengers disembarked and others boarded. From there it was direct to big, bad Bogotá.
6
MONSTERS
The bus terminal in Bogotá was a hive of activity as crowds of people crisscrossed on the terminal floor. It is a large city boasting a population in excess of six million people, all cramming into the cement jungle that is the country’s capital. The city is located on a plateau high in the Andes. It is 2640 metres above sea level making it the third highest capital city in South America. The average temperature is around 15 degrees Celsius and most days are overcast with frequent, if brief, showers.
In Cali, I had extended my tourist visa and now had one month left before it expired, so there was no time for mucking around. I needed to make the most of my time and see what needed to be seen. Firstly, I needed a place to stay and the most popular hostel in town was the Platypus hostel, an old colonial building in the historic La Candelaria neighbourhood. The hostel was simple but a good place for meeting other intrepid travellers and swapping stories.
La Candelaria is officially the first neighbourhood of Bogotá and it is pleasurable to just wander around the cobblestone streets admiring the 16th and 17th century Spanish Colonial architecture. The area is frequented by creative and bohemian types but it can be dangerous at night.
My first point of call was the Botero Museum set in a stunning colonial mansion. Fernando Botero is a famous Colombian artist and sculptor known for his unique style depicting people and figures as disproportionately large. The museum is a fine example of beauty, both in the art and the architecture, created by Colombians and stands in stark contrast to the ugliness of which Colombians are so often known for.
As an aside, it was Fernando Botero’s son, Fernando Botero Zea, who featured in one of Colombia’s uglier political episodes. Botero Zea, who served as Ernesto Samper’s campaign manager before being appointed as minister of defence, was one of those convicted in relation to Case 8000 regarding the Cali Cartel’s financing of Samper’s presidential campaign. He resigned in August 1995 and was arrested shortly after, subsequently spending 30 months behind bars. On 22 January 1996, he gave an interview in which he stated Ernesto Samper was fully aware of the cartel’s campaign contributions.
Yet another example of the country’s beauty lay in the Museo del Oro or Gold Museum which holds the world’s largest collection of gold from the pre-Columbian era that encompasses the period before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492. The Spanish first arrived in Colombian territory in 1499 and went about setting up colonial provinces which became known as the New Kingdom of Granada.
The most advanced indigenous Amerindian cultures at the time were the Taironas, who largely inhabited the north-eastern part of the country, and the Muisca, who were mostly based in the middle of the country. One of the most famous pieces in the museum is the Muisca golden raft discovered in 1929 and estimated to be around 1000 years old. It represents the ceremony of the Muisca chief and is the basis for the legend of El Dorado or The Golden.
El Dorado describes the initiation of the tribal chief who covered himself in gold dust and, standing in the middle of his raft surrounded by other chieftains, offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess. This took place in what is now called Lake Guatavita, which is a popular tourist destination a couple hours drive north–east of Bogotá.
The lake was discovered by a Spanish conquistador in 1537 and over the next few years there were several successful attempts at retrieving some gold. A more significant effort was
made in the late 19th century whereby the lake was drained, but this caused the mud to set like concrete in the sun and the attempt ended in failure. It was deemed a protected area by the government in 1965, making it illegal to search for gold in the lake. To this day, there potentially exists a massive fortune buried beneath the water.
It was a governing board in Bogotá that declared independence from the Spanish on 20 July 1810, Colombia’s Independence Day. This was in response to Napoléon Bonaparte putting his brother on the Spanish throne a couple of years earlier. The Spanish were ultimately defeated by the Venezuelan-born revolutionary Simón Bolívar, known as ‘El Libertador’ or ‘The Liberator’, in the Battle of Boyacá on 7 August 1819. This led to the formation of Gran Colombia or Greater Colombia, encompassing Colombia, Venezuela and Panama, while Ecuador was also added to the federation three years later upon its liberation.
Gran Colombia dissolved just a decade after being created, leaving Colombia and Panama as a sovereign country and known as the Republic of New Granada. It later became the Granadine Confederation and then the United States of Colombia, before finally settling on the Republic of Colombia in 1886 with Rafael Núñez serving as the 1st president of Colombia. Panama, backed by the United States so that the Panama Canal could be built, seceded from Colombia in 1903.
It was nearing midday and I was starting to get a little hungry. However, the Plaza de Bolívar was only a short stroll away and I decided to take that in before getting a bite to eat. The Plaza de Bolívar is situated at the western border of La Candelaria and next to the downtown area of Bogotá. It is full of domestic and foreign tourists alike, as well as a healthy number of pigeons and one needs to be vigilant when the flock is airborne.
The big square is surrounded by historic buildings. To the east is the Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá built in the early 19th century. It is the biggest cathedral in Colombia. To the west is the Palacio Liévano which doubles as the city hall. In recent years it has become the centre of scandals involving the city’s mayors. To the south is the neoclassical National Capitol building which houses the Colombian Congress. To the north is the Palace of Justice and is where the Supreme Court is located. This was the scene of the infamous attack that took place in 1985 by members of the Movimiento 19 de Abril or 19th of April Movement, known as M-19.
