Timeline of the Colombian conflict

This is a timeline of events related to the Colombian conflict.

Background

Events that preceded the conflict.

1890s

1899

• Thousand Days' War, civil war between the two ruling parties Colombian Liberal Party and Colombian Conservative Party,

1900s

1902

• End of Civil War. Tensions between parties remain.

1920s

1928

• Banana Massacre in the town of Ciénaga, Magdalena by the Colombian Army after a workers' strike against the United Fruit Company.

1940s

1948

• Death of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán triggers El Bogotazo, Liberal and Conservative violence spread as part of La Violencia.

1950s

• Marquetalia and other enclaves created by radical Liberal and Communist guerrillas.

1953

• General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla seizes power and offers an amnesty to Liberal and Conservative fighters, most of whom demobilize.

1958

• The National Front created by the Liberal and Conservative parties, after mutual agreements and a December 1957 plebiscite.

1959

• U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a survey team to Colombia to investigate the political situation in Colombia. As a result, the U.S. decided to help Colombia in counter-insurgency doctrines.^[1]

Colombian armed conflict

1960s

1960

• January 11 - Jacobo Prías aka "Charro Negro", Chief of the Communist Agrarian Movement is killed. The Colombian government is blamed.^[2]

1961

• Reports of helicopters were being deployed with US instructors accompanying Colombian pilots.^[1]

1962

• A United States special warfare team, trained in Kennedy's Counterinsurgency doctrine, and headed by Gen. William Yarborough, was sent to Colombia. Following this cycles of special warfare teams arrived in Colombia between 1962 and 1965 to continue training in counterinsurgency operations^[3]
• Colombian Army military offensive against Marquetalia fails to eliminate the enclave.

1963

1964

• Operation Soberanía (Colombia), launched by the Colombian Army simultaneously with Operation Marquetalia in southern Tolima Department.
• Establishment of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by Jacobo Arenas and Manuel Marulanda, among others.^[4]

1965

• Radical Liberal and Communist guerrillas from Marquetalia created the Southern Bloc

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970s

1971

• The FARC begin kidnapping as a major source of income.^[5]

1975

• FARC Kidnaps the Dutch consul in Cali Eric Leupin, demanding a US$1 million in ransom.^[5]

1976

• October - FARC Dutch consul hostage is released.^[5]

1977

• FARC Kidnaps a member of the United States Peace Corps.

1978

1979

1980s

1980

• February 27 – April 27 - Dominican embassy siege by 19th of April Movement (M-19)

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

• November 6–7 - Palace of Justice siege by 19th of April Movement (M-19)
• May 28 - Patriotic Union (Colombia) founded

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990s

1990

• Colombian army launched Operation Centauro against the guerrillas with no significant results.

1991

• Operation Casa Verde launched by the Colombian army in an attempt to combat guerrillas concentrated in the area of Uribe, Meta with operations also extending to the region of Yari.

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

• June 16 - A confrontation for coca cultivations in Norte de Santander Department between the AUC paramilitaries and the FARC results in La Gabarra Massacre.

1997

• Operation Destructor launched by the Colombian army destroying numerous camp sites. According to the army there were 600 guerrilla casualties.
• Mapiripán massacre

1998

1999

• FARC-Government peace process starts
• FARC released a hostage held since 1977 (22 years) after a payment of a US$250,000 ransom.

2000s

2000

2001

2002

• Bojayá massacre
• Operation TH launched by the Colombian army to recover the former demilitarized zone after the failed peace process between the Pastrana government and the FARC guerrilla.

2003

2004

• Operation JM launched by the Colombian army, first of operation part of Plan Patriota.

2005

2006

• Parapolitics scandal broke out.

2007

2008

• A humanitarian exchange of important hostages and the rescue of 15 important hostages, including three Americans and Íngrid Betancourt.

2009

2010s

2010

• January 1–18 FARC rebels are killed in a raid by the Colombian Air Force in the south while celebrating the New Year.^[6]

2011

2012

2013

• 1 January – The Colombian military kills 13 FARC rebels in an airstrike.^[7]
• 22 January – FARC rebels have blown up two southern oil pipelines with dynamite and planted a bomb on the top coal exporter's northern railway after the end of a ceasefire.^[8]
• 9 November – A gunman opens fire on a bar in Cali and kills eight people.^[9]

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Further information: Catatumbo campaign

• 5 January – Two encounters happened in southwestern Colombia, leaving at least 7 people killed. During the incident a rebel leader was shot dead.^[10][11]
• 10 January – A Colombian soldier was shot dead by an ELN sniper in the department of Arauca.^[12]
• 13 January – Militants of the ELN kidnapped a contractor of Ecopetrolun in the Department of Arauca.^[13]
• 19 January – Uniformed soldiers who were in an army base in the municipality of Teorama, Norte de Santander, were attacked in an unexpected attack by members of the ELN guerrillas. One soldier was killed and two more were injured.^[14]
• 21 January – A caravan made up of members of the National Protection Unit, along with members of the FARC political party, who were returning from a meeting in the village of El Oasis, was attacked by gunfire in the department of Arauca. One of the vehicles that was part of the caravan was incinerated and a civilian who was part of an oil company in the sector was killed in the attack.^[15][16]
• 27 January –
  • At least five police officers were killed and 42 others injured in a bombing attack that targeted a police station in the northern coastal city of Barranquilla.^[17][18]
  • In the town of Buenavista, Santa Rosa del Sur, an explosive device was hurled against the police substation in that area. The incident left two police officers dead and one injured.^[19][20]
  • 28 people were injured in an attack on a police station in San Lorenzo, in Northern Ecuador.^[21][22]
• 28 January – At least five people were injured in an attack against the police in the metropolitan area of the Colombian city of Barranquilla.^[23][24]
• 3 February – FARC dissidents blew up an energy tower in the southeastern Colombian department of Guaviare, which left some 22,000 people in the area without electricity.^[25]
• 4 February – Armed men threw a grenade at a house in Ituango and fired repeatedly at its facade. The incident left a 3-year-old girl dead.^[26][27]
• 10 February – The National Liberation Army (ELN) activated explosive charges that damaged a bridge and road in the department of Cesar (north), leaving no victims.^[28]
• 12 February –
  • Colombian soldier Jhon Jairo Delgado Bastidas was killed by guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in the municipality of Valdivia, in the department of Antioquia.^[29]
  • The railway line of Colombia's largest coal mine, Cerrejón, was attacked with explosives that caused the suspension of trains without affecting production or exports.^[30][31]
• 13 February – A dead policeman, identified as mayor Jorge Sáenz Animero, and three civilians injured, is the result of an attack perpetrated by armed men in the capital of Arauca.^[32][33]
• 16 February – A bomb exploded in the Paloquemao sector of Bogotá. The attack did not leave people injured.^[34]
• 19 February – Two soldiers were injured in an attack by dissidents of the former Colombian FARC guerrilla against Ecuadorian soldiers on the border with Colombia.^[35][36]
• 21 February – At least seven peasants were injured as they crossed a minefield mined by the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla when they were carrying out coca leaf plantation removal work in the Nukak natural park in the Colombian department of Guaviare.^[37]
• 24 February – An attack by dissidents of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, on a police squad in the municipality of Puerto Rico in the department of Meta left one uniformed man dead and another wounded.^[38]
• 25 February – Three Venezuelans died in the municipality of Tibú, department of Norte de Santander, in an attack by the ELN.^[39]
• 27 February – At least five soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in a bomb attack against a Colombian army caravan in a rural area of the city of Cucuta, bordering Venezuela.^[40][41]
• 28 February – A new assault by the ELN with gunfire and cylinder bombs, which was registered in the rural area of Convención, killed one soldier and injured four others.^[42][43]
• 1 March – An ELN attack killed 2 soldiers and 3 others were injured in Convención.^[44]
• 3 March – Two policemen were killed in an attack with explosives on the road from Caldono to Siberia in the department of Cauca.^[45]

2019

2020s

2020

2021

• 21 January – FARC dissidents clash with Venezuelan authorities.
• 3 March – A military operation kills ten FARC dissidents.^[46]

2022

2023

2024

See also

• Timeline of Colombian history

References

1. SOA Watch Archived 2007-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Timeline". www.farcep.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
3. Peter Dale Scott Drugs, Oil, and War Rowman and Littlefield Publishers: Oxford 2003 Archived 2007-02-18 at archive.today
4. Black, Jan Knippers, ed. (2005). Latin America, its problems and its promise: a multidisciplinary introduction (4th ed.). Boulder, Colo: Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-4164-4.
5. Military.com - FARC activities
6. "Colombian forces raid Farc camp". Al Jazeera. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
7. "Thirteen Colombian Farc rebels 'killed in air strike'". BBC News. January 2013.
8. Acosta, Luis Jaime (22 January 2013). "Colombia says FARC rebels hit two oil pipelines, coal rail line". Reuters.
9. "Gunman kills eight in bar in Cali, Colombia". Reuters. 9 November 2013.
10. "Enfrentamientos entre bandas ilegales dejan al menos 7 muertos en el suroeste de Colombia". W Radio (in Spanish). 5 January 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
11. "Seis personas muertas deja enfrentamiento de bandas criminales en Bolívar, Cauca". Noticias RCN (in Spanish). 5 January 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
12. "Militar fue asesinado por un francotirador del Eln, en vía de Arauca". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 10 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
13. "Eln secuestra a contratista de la empresa Ecopetrol en Saravena, Arauca". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 13 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
14. "Nuevo ataque del ELN deja un soldado muerto y dos más heridos". El Universal Cartagena (in Spanish). 19 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
15. "Atentan contra militantes del partido de las Farc en Arauca". La FM (in Spanish). 21 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
16. "Farc denuncia ataque armado en Arauca". El Universal Cartagena (in Spanish). 21 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
17. "Colombia: Bombing kills at least 5 police officers". Anadolu Agency. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
18. "El ELN se atribuyó el atentado de este sábado en Barranquilla". Portafolio (in Spanish). 28 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
19. "Dos policías muertos y un herido tras atentado contra estación de Policía en Santa Rosa del Sur". RCN Radio (in Spanish). 28 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
20. "Mindefensa atribuye al Eln atentados en Barranquilla, Soledad y Santa Rosa". El Espectador (in Spanish). 29 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
21. "Al menos 13 policías heridos de carácter leve por un atentado contra una comisaría del norte de Ecuador". Europa Press (in Spanish). 27 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
22. "Ecuador links police barracks bombing to Colombia FARC dissidents". Reuters. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
23. "Nuevo ataque contra la Policía en Colombia deja cinco heridos". Globovisión (in Spanish). 28 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
24. "Eln es autor de atentados en Barranquilla, Soledad y Santa Rosa: Mindefensa". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 29 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
25. "Atentado contra torre de energía en Guaviare deja sin luz a medio departamento". El Espectador (in Spanish). 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
26. "Ataque con granada en Ituango (Antioquia) dejó una bebé muerta". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 5 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
27. "Niña de dos años fallece tras atentado con granada en una casa de Ituango, Antioquia". Noticias Caracol (in Spanish). 5 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
28. "ELN inicia 'paro armado' en Colombia con dos bombazos". Excelsior (in Spanish). 10 February 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
29. "El ELN asesina a un soldado colombiano en el tercer día de paro armado". Noticias Venezuela (in Spanish). 12 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
30. "Ataque explosivo paraliza línea férrea de minera Cerrejón en Colombia". Swissinfo (in French). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
31. "Atentan contra tramo de la línea férrea del Cerrejón en La Guajira". El Espectador (in Spanish). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
32. "Señalan al Eln de realizar 'plan pistola' tras asesinato de policía". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
33. "Arauca: Dos hombres asesinaron a un policía y dejaron tres personas heridas". Colombia (in Spanish). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
34. "Con bomba panfletaria en Bogotá, continúan ataques del Eln". El Espectador (in Spanish). 16 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
35. "Dos soldados ecuatorianos heridos tras ataque de disidentes de las FARC". El Universo (in Spanish). 20 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
36. "Militares fueron atacados por disidentes de las FARC con un mortero artesanal". El Comercio (in Spanish). 20 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
37. "Siete erradicarores resultaron heridos tras caer en campo minado de las Farc". Confidencial Colombia (in Spanish). 22 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
38. "Disidencias de las Farc asesinaron a un policía en Meta". El Espectador (in Spanish). 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
39. "Tres venezolanos muertos en presunto ataque del ELN en Colombia". EXTRA! Noticias Venezuela (in Spanish). 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
40. "Cinco militares muertos en emboscada al Ejército en Norte de Santander". Noticias Venezuela (in Spanish). 27 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
41. "Cinco militares muertos en emboscada al Ejército en Norte de Santander". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 27 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
42. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (1 March 2018). "Nuevo ataque del Eln dejó un soldado muerto y tres más heridos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
43. "Eln es el responsable de ataque en el municipio de Convención". Wradio (in Spanish). 1 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
44. "Dos soldados muertos y tres heridos dejaron ataques del Eln". Radio Nacional de España (in Spanish). 1 March 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
45. "Dos policías muertos en ataque con explosivos en Caldono, Cauca". RCN Radio (in Spanish). 3 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
46. "Ten rebels killed, three captured in Colombia military bombing". Reuters. 2021-03-03. Retrieved 2021-12-05.

External links

• BBC:Timeline of Colombia
• terrorism knowledge base