Activities
The U.S. State Department has listed the ELN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, ostensibly because of its reputation for ransom kidnappings and armed attacks on Colombia's infrastructure. In April 2004, the European Union added the ELN to its list of terrorist organizations for those actions and its breaches of humanitarian law.
The ELN has also occasionally operated with the FARC-EP and like FARC it has targeted civilians, according to a February 2005 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: "During 2004, the FARC-EP and the ELN carried out a series of attacks against the civilian population, including several massacres of civilians and kidnappings by the FARC-EP. There were occasional joint actions by the FARC-EP and the ELN."
In mid-2006, mutual rivalries between local FARC and ELN forces escalated into hostilities in Arauca, along the border with Venezuela. According to the BBC, "the FARC have for some years moved to take over ELN territory near the Venezuelan border, and the smaller rebel army reacted by killing several FARC militants". A statement posted on FARC's homepage accused the ELN of "attacks that we only expected from the enemy".
The ELN's main source of income are businesses and middle class civilians in its areas of operation. To enforce these "taxes", they frequently take civilians captive to use as leverage. While the ELN uses the terms "war taxes" and "retentions" for these actions, critics insist they constitute "extortion" and "kidnapping".
According to Claudia Calle, spokesperson for País Libre, a Colombian foundation for victims of abductions, the ELN is responsible for the death of 153 hostages between 2000 and 2007. According to País Libre, ELN abducted over 3,000 people between 2000 and 2007 and currently still holds 240 people captive.
On December 7, 18 ELN guerillas surrendered to the Colombian army in the northwestern province of Chocó.
Read more about this topic: National Liberation Army (Colombia)
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