Tensions are on the rise in the Andes. Efforts by the Colombian government to battle leftist rebels have brought relations among it, Ecuador and Venezuela to the brink of war. Cooler heads appear to have prevailed, but problems have only been managed, not eliminated. The real problem is the enduring vitality of ideology in a region where poverty is rife. Leaders should focus on developing their nations rather than playing power politics and distracting their citizens.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — better known as FARC — has waged war against various governments in Bogota since the 1960s. It espouses a radical Marxist ideology, but it is really a group of drug dealers and kidnappers more interested in profit than any ideological agenda. During their insurgency, they have kidnapped or killed thousands of people, successfully defying every Colombian government they challenged. A decade ago, they made Colombia virtually ungovernable.
After negotiations with FARC in the 1990s failed — and during which the rebels seized many of the abductees they now use for leverage and international attention — the government of President Alvara Uribe took a hard line, and turned to the United States for aid and assistance. The aggressive policy has born fruit, decimating FARC's ranks and driving it into the jungle, but its leadership has remained intact.
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