International Support
Supportive Countries -
Venezuela:
- In 1999, Chávez met with Raul Reyes, a top FARC commander, and suggested the possibility of future assistance intended to alter the “military balance of power in Colombia.”
- Chávez’s support manifested itself primarily through sympathetic gestures on the international stage and the offering of asylum to “Colombian guerrillas and soldiers alike.”
Cuba:
- Peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC fighters have taken place within Cuba the past three years. Cuba allows FARC fighters safe travel to and from regions within Colombia and is a safe haven for fighters escaping pressure within Colombia.
- An official ally until 1991, Cuba continues to offer financial and supply support discreetly to the group.
Associations With Other Terrorist Groups -
ETA:
- Connections between high ranking members of each group have been documented for over thirty years
- Computer data seized from a raid on high ranking official Raul Reyes in 2008 provided us with information that ETA members have traveled to Colombia to provide instruction and training to FARC military forces.
IRA:
- Per http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/arrests-highlight-farcs-international-support-networks
- The FARC have also received training from the Irish Republican Army (IRA). In August 2001 three Irish men were arrested in Bogota. They were traveling on false passports, and had traces of explosives on their belongings. The trio were later charged with training theFARC in the use of explosives, and at least one was found to be a representative of the IRA's political arm. Authorities believed that they had initiated contact with FARC through the Spanish terrorist group ETA some five years previously.
International Media and Communications -
Social Media Website: http://farc-epeace.org/
The URL name, farc-epeace.org, sounds a bit like your average NGO - yet is the home of FARC's media wing. They publish editorials, repost relevant news articles from affiliated, often socialist news organizations, and have lately posted many updates on the ongoing peace talks with the Colombian government. A typical post contains links to associated FARC media enterprises, like soundcloud, instagram, and even including a strong web of twitter followers. One of the first advertisements you find on the right hand toolbar of their website contains a link to a copy of a PDF entitled "Marulanda and the FARC For Beginners". This is the go-to handbook that begins the radicalization process for would be members of FARC.
ANNCOL:
- A pro-Farc agency based in Sweden said to be the group's mouthpiece in Europe. Founded in 1996 by Latin American and European journalists.
- The Colombian Government has warned repeatedly that humanitarian organizations should avoid any "mediation" contact with the FARC without having official permission from the Colombian government.
- ​Has maintained an Internet presence from May 1998 to today. Its aims are "to inform about Colombia, to be a voice for the voiceless sectors of Colombia and to provide a platform for actions of popular movements, trade unions and the progressive communities of the Latin American countries, and fighting against neoliberalism and the exploitation of the people"
