Northwestern Bloc of the FARC-EP

The Northwestern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the Iván Ríos Bloc[1] has historically been a strong influence in the Medellín and Antioquia regions, and still is today. It has been among the blocs most seriously targeted by former president Álvaro Uribe's defense plan and the Colombian Army's offensive. Due to this, the bloc has been forced to retreat to more remote areas of the countryside and has lost the dominance it once had in the area. The specific divisions of the group are arguable. Because of the current conflict existing in the country, much of the information recovered is conflicting. Some of the believed divisions or "fronts", as they are commonly called, are shown below. Many of these fronts sometimes work together towards a certain mission, while others are further divided into "columns" and "companies" with a smaller number of members. For more general information see FARC-EP Chain of Command.

Commanders
AliasNameNote
Isaías TrujilloLuis Carlos Úsuga RestrepoBloc commander.[2]
Iván MárquezLuciano Marín Arango
Jesus Santrich[3]Seusis Hernández

Columna móvil Mario Vélez

This mobile column is composed of around 300 members. It operates mainly in el Nudo de Paramillo, Yarumal, Valdivia and Anorí.[4]

AliasNameNote
RemoradoColumn commander.[5]

5th Front

Also known as the Antonio Nariño Front, this front is composed by up to 350 combatants and operates mostly in the Urabá region of the Antioquia Department.

AliasNameNote
Jacobo ArangoFront commander.[6] Killed on January 31, 2012.[7]
JacoboLuis Carlos Durango ÚsugaArrested in 2003.
"La Muerte" or "Hermes"Héctor Elías Úsuga HiguitaKilled in April 2011.[8]
"Ramirito"Ramiro Antonio Montoya MorenoRingleader, killed in November 2011.[9]

9th Front

Also known as the Atanasio Girardot Front, this front is composed 45 to 50[10] combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia Department. The Colombian military claims that this front has now been dismantled[11] but NGO Nuevo Arco Iris said in 2012 the front is still active[12]

AliasNameNote
DaniloIván de Jesús ZuluagaKilled in 2009[13]
GabrielSecond in command[14]
SalomónThird in command[15]
Alonso, ChamizoTulio Murillo ÁvilaArrested in 2005.
CalicheVirgilio de Jesús GuzmánDemobilized in 2006.
DavidSebastián Hernández GiraldoArrested on February 14, 2011.[16]
"Elicier" or "El Diablo"Gabriel Arcangel Galvis MontoyaSecond-in-command. Killed on July 16, 2012.[17]

18th Front

This front is composed by up to 150 combatants and operates mostly in the Córdoba Department.

AliasNameNote
MantecoJóberman Sánchez Arroyabe
Román RuizFront commander

34th Front

Also known as the Alberto Martínez Front, this front is composed by up to 250 combatants and operates mostly in the Chocó and Antioquia Departments.

AliasNameNote
Pedro BaracutadoAncízar GarcíaCommands 34th front[18]
El PaisaJesús Agudelo RodríguezKilled in 2008.[19]
AmparoKilled in July 2010.[20]
ModestoRamón Antonio Duarte BorjaCaptured in July 2010.[21][22]
ElianRan away from FARC (March 2011) with his wife alias "Elizabeth".[23]
ElizabethRan away from FARC (March 2011) with his husband alias "Elian".[24]

36th Front

This front is composed by up to 160 combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia Department.

AliasNameNote
"Ánderson" or "Carranza"Front commander[25]
DúberRubén Darío Pérez ContrerasKilled in 2008.[26]
Argemiro, El ZurdoMartín Francisco Puerta HenaoCaptured in 2005.
Tres PelosHéctor Alfonso VillalobosKilled in 2003.
GuacharacoJuan Bautista Peña SernaKilled in April 2010.
Pechi

Demobilized in August 2010.[27]

Jaimes

Demobilized on October 26, 2010.[28]

El PájaroJesús Morales Morales

After being wounded, he handed himself to the army on February 8, 2011.[29][30]

SamperAlberto Montoya MontoyaCaptured by Interpol in April 2011.
ShampooFinancial leader and explosive expert. Killed in August 2011 along with two others guerilleros.[31]

47th Front

Also known as the Leonardo Posada Pedraza Front, this front is composed by 15 to 90 combatants and operates mostly in the Caldas and Antioquia Departments. The front is, as of 2011, mainly active in the border between southern Antioquia and Caldas, with limited, if any, activity in other departments.[32]

AliasNameNote
Kadafi[33]
KarinaNelly Ávila MorenoDemobilized in 2008.[34]

On May 19, 2008, Karina surrendered herself to the Colombian authorities, two weeks after president Uribe guaranteed her safety on her surrender. According to the governor of Antioquia, Luis Alfredo Ramos, she was also urged by her family to surrender.[35]

57th Front

This front is composed by up to 250 combatants, and operates mostly in the Chocó Department.

AliasNameNote
Benkos2d in command.[36]
El BecerroCommander 57th Front, escaped bombing in 'operation darién'[37]
SilverKilled on October 3, 2010, in Operation Darien

58th Front

Also known as the Mártires de las Canas Front, this front is composed by up to 150 combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia and Córdoba Departments.

AliasNameNote
MantecoJóberman Sánchez Arroyabe

Jacobo Arenas Urban Front

This urban front is considered FARC's greatest influence in the Medellín region.

AliasNameNote
Ramiro, PolíticoKilled in 2006.
OctavioRolando Acevedo MuñozKilled in 2005.

Raúl Eduardo Mahecha Front

Operates in Antioquia. In September 2011 this front is believed to have rescued three oil workers who were kidnapped by criminals in August 2011. The guerrillas freed the workers and handed them over the Colombian police.[38]

Columns and Companies

The following columns and companies also form part of the Northwestern Bloc:

  • Company Aurelio Rodríguez: Composed by up to 110 combatants, this company operates in the Risaralda and Caldas Departments and is led by Martín Cruz Vega, alias "Rubin Morro". One of its highest ranking militants, Jesús González Cardona, alias "Osama", was captured in 2007.
  • Company Héroes y Mártires del Cairo operates in the Antioquia Department.

See also

References
  1. "Comunicado del Bloque Noroccidental de las FARC EP" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  2. "Millonarias recompensas por cabecillas de las Farc". Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  3. (in Spanish) El Tiempo: Ex ministro de Chávez, cerebro de la visita de las Farc a Caracas
  4. "Anorí, el fortín que las Farc buscan retomar". www.elcolombiano.com. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  5. "Anorí, el fortín que las Farc buscan retomar". www.elcolombiano.com. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. "Resultados de la busqueda". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. "Leading FARC commander killed in northwestern Colombia". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  9. "'FARC' ringleader killed in northwest Colombia - Colombia News - Colombia Reports". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  10. "Ejército incautó munición de las Farc". www.elcolombiano.com. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  11. El Tiempo. "'Karina' niega tener relación con la muerte del padre del presidente Álvaro Uribe" May 19, 2008. Available online. Accessed May 19, 2008.
  12. "Colombian Army 'kills FARC commander'". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  13. "Poder 360° - Page One Daily News - FARC Encampment Bombed". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  14. "Ejército incautó munición de las Farc". www.elcolombiano.com. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  15. "Ejército incautó munición de las Farc". www.elcolombiano.com. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  16. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  17. "Colombian Army 'kills FARC commander'". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  18. "Por temor a posibles retaliaciones del frente 34 de las FARC, 26 familias del caserío las Brisas, en el Atrato Medio chocoano | RCN la Radio - RCN Radio". Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  19. "Colombian army claims death of FARC commander". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  20. "Archivo Digital: Noticias Principales de Colombia y el Mundo en Digital e Impreso - Noticias - ELTIEMPO.COM". eltiempo.com. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  21. Micrositios Content Manager. "Ejército captura a alias Modesto jefe de milicias del Frente 34 de las Farc - SEPTIMA DIVISION". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  22. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  23. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  24. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  25. "Anorí, el fortín que las Farc buscan retomar". www.elcolombiano.com. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  26. El Tiempo. "Sucesor de 'Martín Caballero' en las Farc murió en combate" February 11, 2008. Available online Archived 2008-03-23 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed February 12, 2008.
  27. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  28. Micrositios Content Manager. "Contacto - Ejercito Nacional de Colombia". Ejrcito Nacional de Colombia. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  29. "Señal Radio Colombia". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  30. "FARC ringleader surrenders to armed forces". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  31. "Military kills FARC finance leader". Colombia News - Colombia Reports. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  32. "Aparece frente Jacobo Arenas en sureste de Antioquia". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  33. http://colombiareports.com/2008/06/05/colombian-army-kills-girlfriend-kadafi/
  34. "Noticias, Deportes y Análisis de Colombia - Caracol Radio". 18 May 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  35. BBC NEWS | Americas | Leading Farc commander surrenders
  36. "impresa.prensa.com - La Prensa". La Prensa. Archived from the original on 2011-02-08. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  37. "FARC Wanted Poster [PHOTO]". Expert Vagabond. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  38. "Las Farc fueron quienes rescataron a los contratistas, dijo uno de los familiares | RCN la Radio - RCN Radio". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
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