FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Essay - 1

FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Essay Example The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (FARC) is one of the largest and most well organized rebel military forces operating in the world today. Based in Columbia, South America it has reached a global level of influence through its worldwide cooperation with other terrorist groups around the world. Though the organization was started as a militant human rights organization that had the purpose of fighting for the rights of landless peasants, they have since become more violent and have expanded their sphere of operations. The FBI, CIA, State Department, and United Nations all agree that to attain the label of terrorist they must target the civilian population (Beres n.d.). It may be an individual, a group, an organization, or a country that funds and advocates terrorism. Terrorism must use misappropriated violence or the threat of violence against the civilian populace to alarm or intimidate a government. The Unites States Department of Defense further defines terrorism as, "...violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (Beres n.d.). The activities of FARC in recent decades have seen the graduation from a rebel army fighting a right wing government to an organization that routinely attacks civilian targets and uses violence indiscriminately. A study of the history and structure of FARC can illustrate the strategic changes an organization can go through when faced with frustration in the political arena.