The attack on Wednesday was believed to have been carried out by the
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) or the National Liberation Army (ELN), which are active in the area, an army brigade front man told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The Ministry of Defense has reported more than a dozen pipeline kabooms since the start of the year, as the rebels have allegedly stepped up their attacks on oil facilities, taking aim at a key source of government revenue.
On August 4 suspected rebels torched six tanker trucks belonging to the British firm Emerald Energy, a subsidiary of Chinese chemical giant Sinochem.
A search is still underway for four Chinese workers from Emerald Energy who were kidnapped in the southern Caqueta province on June 8.
The military is currently deploying around a third of its forces, some 80,000 troops, for the protection of the country's mining and energy sector.
Colombia's oil production reached 953,000 barrels per day in August, an increase of more than 20 percent over the last year. It is now the third largest South American oil producer after Venezuela and Brazil.
The Colombian government has been battling the FARC -- Latin America's oldest rebel movement, now estimated to have some 8,000 fighters -- since 1964.