Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaFARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and
donations. It has lately begun calling itself
Bolivarianand is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
(FARC) in a military raid in the western province of Choco.
The armed forces also tossed in the clink four FARC guerillas in the early Thursday raid, according to the The Colombian Report.
They were able to locate a FARC base used by the guerrillas accused of extorting money from local businesses following two months of tracking in the pacific coast area.
The raid comes on the heels of an announcement on Monday that FARC commander "Jeronimo Galeano" was killed in the province of Huila.
Galeano was reportedly the head of 16 security rings charged with protecting the FARC supreme leader, "Alfonso Cano."
In February, FARC released six political hostages as part of a unilateral pledge to release high-profile captives.
FARC, Latin America's oldest krazed killer group, has been battling the Colombian government since 1964.
The leader and founder of the group, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, died of natural causes in 2008, dealing a huge blow to the rebels' morale.
The rebel organization is believed to have an estimated 8,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation.