Whether Colombian guerrillas are present in Venezuela and whether they are involved in kidnappings, particularly in Caracas and in other cities, or in the eastern part of the country; measures taken by the Venezuelan authorities against the guerrillas (2004 - February 2006) [VEN101127.FE]

Presence of Colombian guerrillas in Venezuela

The Colombian armed groups operating along the Venezuelan border (El Universal 30 Mar. 2005) are also active on the Venezuelan side of the Colombia-Venezuela border (El País 26 Sept. 2004; Colombia Week 27 Sept. 2004).

The Economist Intelligence Unit indicates that cattle farmers in the border region have seen an increase in the number of raids by Colombian rebel groups (1 Feb. 2006). According to the same source, "incursions [are] usually brief and limited to Venezuela's remote western region" (EIU 1 Feb. 2006).

However, in May 2004, "130 Colombian rebels dressed in Venezuelan military uniforms were captured on a farm near Caracas" (Colombia Week 27 Sept. 2004).

Some sources report that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) operates training camps in Venezuela (El Universal 17 Oct. 2005; AFP 18 Sept. 2004; see also El País 26 Sept. 2004). A regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the presence of the FARC in the border states of Tachira and Apure is growing and that the FARC is recruiting there (The Washington Times 20 Sept. 2005).

According to a report by the Colombian army, there are 1,000 FARC members on the Venezuelan side of the border in the state of Zulia (La Verdad 26 Oct. 2005).

As to the various activities of the Colombian armed groups in Venezuela, some sources list drug trafficking, smuggling, and kidnapping (The Washington Times 20 Sept. 2005; El País 26 Sept. 2004). Gasoline smuggling is one of the ways in which Colombian paramilitaries obtain finances (ICG 27 Jan. 2005, 15; The Washington Times 20 Sept. 2005). Some of the chemicals used to process cocaine come from Venezuela (ICG 27 Jan. 2005, 25).

In addition, weapons from Venezuela are brought into Colombia in exchange for drugs (El País 26 Sept. 2004; The Miami Herald 17 July 2005).

According to the 20 September 2005 issue of The Washington Times, Colombian paramilitaries are forcing Colombian refugees to pay protection money to safeguard themselves from other armed groups. Sometimes, cattle farmers themselves reportedly hire the paramilitaries (The Washington Times 20 Sept. 2005).

In March 2005, the Venezuelan daily El Universal reported that the FARC and the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) began fighting in Venezuela to control the drug traffic in the border zone with Colombia (30 Mar. 2005).

In February 2005, a kidnapping and anti-extortion unit in the state of Bolivar arrested Gentil Galvis Patiño, a key member of FARC's Front 16 (El Tiempo 24 Feb. 2005; El Nacional 25 Feb. 2005; AFP 11 Sept. 2005). Patiño, a guerrilla who has taken part in kidnappings and was apprehended for that of the mother of baseball player Ugeth Urbina, was in possession of over 600 kilograms of cocaine when he was arrested (ibid.; El Nacional 25 Feb. 2005; El Tiempo 24 Feb. 2005; see also The Miami Herald 16 Mar. 2005). His three accomplices, two of whom were Colombian, carried fake Venezuelan identity cards (El Nacional 25 Feb. 2005).

In December 2004, Rodrigo Granda, identified as the foreign affairs minister of the FARC, was kidnapped in Caracas and taken to Colombia, triggering a crisis between the two countries (Latinamerica Press 9 Feb. 2005; Latinnews Daily 29 Mar. 2005; Weekly News Update on the Americas 16 Jan. 2005).

Participation in kidnappings

Kidnappings are a particular problem along the border between Colombia and Venezuela, and "the situation has deteriorated in recent years" (EIU 1 Feb. 2006; see also El País 26 Sept. 2004). According to local authorities from Cucuta who spoke to Agence France-Presse (AFP), insecurity has risen in the region because of the presence of rebel groups (18 Sept. 2004), while the Colombian daily El País directly relates the rise in the number of kidnappings to the presence of Colombian armed groups in Venezuela (26 Sept. 2004). The Venezuelan vice-president, José Vicente Rangel, said that the measures taken by Colombia against the illegal armed groups had resulted in a rise in the number of kidnappings and cases of extortion in Venezuela (Latinnews Daily 29 Mar. 2005).

At the beginning of July 2005, the Venezuelan authorities arrested 16 alleged ELN members who were organizing kidnappings in the border region (EFE 6 July 2005).

An 18 September 2004 AFP article, citing a Colombian official, related that there were more than 50 kidnappings in Tachira in 2004, whereas there was only one on the Colombian side of the border.

Furthermore, at the beginning of 2004, the head of the kidnapping unit in the Zulia region was held prisoner for two hours during a confrontation between his unit and roughly 100 guerrillas from the FARC's Front 41 (Notitarde 2 Feb. 2004). His unit was looking for two local farmers who had been kidnapped in August 2003 (ibid.).

Measures taken against the Colombian guerrillas

The Colombian government has often accused the Chavez government of doing too little to crack down on Colombian armed groups, such as the FARC, spilling into Venezuela (AP 1 July 2005; Colombia Week 27 Sept. 2004), of tolerating the rebel group, and even of sympathizing with its activities (Latinamerica Press 9 Feb. 2005; The Miami Herald 17 July 2005). According to a leading spokesperson of the FARC, cited in an International Crisis Group report, the FARC supports Hugo Chavez's "Bolivarian revolution;" however, the report points out that Chavez has begun to distance himself from the FARC through his statements and with the May 2005 extradition to Colombia of a FARC member (16 June 2005, 15).

In February 2004, the Venezuelan minister of defence pointed out that the entire border region was being patrolled constantly, particularly by two expert brigades, and denied that the Venezuelan armed forces had a permissive attitude toward the Colombian armed groups (Notitarde 2 Feb. 2004).

While stating that Venezuela would not let Colombian troops hunt down armed groups in its territory, the Venezuelan foreign minister said that his country wanted to improve military cooperation with Colombia "to curb the flow of guerrillas, arms and drugs across the two nations' [. . . ] border" (AP 1 July 2005; see also Reuters 15 Feb. 2005). The Venezuelan minister of the interior, Jesse Chacón, told Latinamerica Press that Venezuela has "20,000 soldiers stationed along [the] border," while "Colombia has 10,000" (9 Feb. 2005).

More recently, on 27 March 2005, Venezuela announced that "it would establish a special unit to crack down on kidnappings, extortion and drug trafficking in areas bordering Colombia" (Latinnews Daily 29 Mar. 2005).

Furthermore, in January 2005, Colombian authorities presented Venezuela with a list of 10 names of either FARC or ELN guerrillas thought to be in hiding in Venezuela (DPA 20 Jan. 2005). Venezuelan minister of the interior Chacón said that immigration officials would conduct the necessary inquiries (ibid.). No additional information on those inquiries was found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Agence France-Presse (AFP). 11 September 2005. "Un membre des FARC condamné pour le meurtre de deux missionnaires." (Factiva)

_____. 18 September 2004. "Les guérilleros des FARC ont des camps d'entraînement au Venezuela." (Dialog)

Associated Press (AP). 1 July 2005. Cesar Garcia. "Venezuela Won't Allow Colombian Troops." (Factiva)

Colombia Week. 27 September 2004. Marjorie Childress. "Killings in Venezuela Heighten Tensions." (Dialog)

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) International Services. 20 January 2005. "Colombia Hands Venezuela List of Leftist Rebels." (Dialog)

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 1 February 2006. "Venezuela Risk: Security Risk." Risk Briefing, Part 11 of 22. (Factiva)

EFE News Service. 6 July 2005. "Colombian Police Capture 16 Alleged ELN Rebels Near Border." (Dialog)

International Crisis Group (ICG). 16 June 2005. Crisis Group Latin America Report No. 14. Colombia: Presidential Politics and Peace Prospects. http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/latin_america/14_colombia_presidential_politics_and_political_prospects.pdf [Accessed 6 Feb. 2006]

_____. 27 January 2005. Crisis Group Latin America Report No. 11. War and Drugs in Colombia. http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/latin_america/11_war_and_drugs_in_colombia.pdf [Accessed 6 Feb. 2006]

Latinamerica Press. 9 February 2005. Mike Ceaser. "Tense Neighbors: The Arrest of a Top Guerrilla Leader Once Again Strains Relations Between Two Andean Neighbors." (Factiva)

Latinnews Daily. 29 March 2005. "Venezuela: Government Steps Up Border Security." (Factiva)

The Miami Herald. 17 July 2005. Steven Dudley. "Colombian Rebels Widening Reach." http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/farc/widening.htm [Accessed 14 Feb. 2006]

_____. 16 March 2005. Phil Gunson and Steven Dudley. "Kidnapping Suspect Identified as Colombian Rebel; In a New Bid for Cooperation, Colombia and Venezuela Moved Closer to the Extradition of a Rebel Suspected of Helping to Kidnap the Mother of a Former Marlins Pitcher." (Factiva)

El Nacional [Caracas, in Spanish]. 25 February 2005. Sandra Guerrero. "FARC Guerrilla Was Jailed for Theft of Aircraft Under False Name." (WNC/Dialog)

Notitarde. 2 February 2004. "Jefe antisecuestro del Zulia estuvo en poder de las Farc por dos horas en Sierra de Perijá." http://historico.notitarde.com/2004/02/02/pais/pais4.html [Accessed 10 Feb. 2006]

El País [Cali]. 26 September 2004. "Seguridad binacional: 2,219 kilómetros de dudas." http://elpais-cali.terra.com.co/paisonline/notas/Septiembre262004/A1126N1.html [Accessed 16 Feb. 2006]

Reuters. 15 February 2005. Patrick Markey. "Venezuela, Colombia Leaders End Rebel Kidnap Row." (Factiva)

El Tiempo [Valera, Venezuela]. 24 February 2005. "Capturan en Venezuela a guerrillero colombiano con 600 kilogramos de cocaína." http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/coar/ACC_JUDI/accionesjudiciales/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1986424.html [Accessed 14 Feb. 2006]

El Universal [Caracas]. 17 October 2005. "Aseguran que FARC tienen campamentos en Venezuela." http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2005/10/17/pol_ava_17A620727.shtml [Accessed 10 Feb. 2006]

_____. 30 March 2005. "Reportan dos muertos en combates entre FARC y ELN en Venezuela." http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2005/03/30/pol_ava_30A546399.shtml [Accessed 10 Feb. 2006]

La Verdad [Maracaibo]. 26 October 2005. José Gregorio Martínez. "Más de mil guerrilleros de las FARC operan en territorio zuliano." http://www.laverdad.com/detallenew.asp?idcat=10&idnot=28122 [Accessed 10 Feb. 2006]

The Washington Times. 20 September 2005. Sharon Behn. "Colombian Violence Spills Over; Rebels Pursue Refugees Fleeing Killings, Kidnap Into Venezuela." (Factiva)

Weekly News Update on the Americas [New York]. 16 January 2005. "Colombian Rebel Seized." (Resource Center of the Americas). http://www.americas.org/item_17497 [Accessed 14 Feb. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted


Oral sources: A security specialist in Venezuela did not respond to the information request within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004, Ministerio Público de Venezuela, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

Associated documents