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Article: National Liberation Army (ELN)—Colombia
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, andSecurity
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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National Liberation Army (ELN)
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Colombia
The National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia is a Marxist insurgent group formed in 1965 by urban intellectuals inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. ELN began a dialogue with Colombian officials in 1999 following a campaign of mass kidnappings
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each involving at least one U.S. citizen
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to demonstrate its strength and continuing viability and force the Pastrana administration to negotiate. Peace talks between Bogota and the ELN started in 1999 and continued sporadically through 2001 until Bogota broke them off. Negotiations ultimately resumed in Havana, Cuba, by the end of 2001.
Organization activities.
The ELN uses ...