Introduction
The United States has many enemies, both foreign and domestic. While everyone realizes that the threat of terrorism is a real and imminent threat, many do not recognize this threat from any area other than the Middle East. For this reason, it is important to focus all over the world, and address each threat on an individual basis, especially whenever that threat is only a few hundred miles away from American soil. This threat, is the Colombian based organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Not only is it possible for them to conduct an attack on American soil, recent events have heightened the urgency for any such attack. To better understand what kind of threat the United States faces from the …show more content…
It is common knowledge that Colombia has been, and still is one of the leading exporters of cocaine in the world. According the Colombian Defense Minister in 2016, the FARC could be receiving as much as $3.5 billion, through drug trade alone (Renwick, 2016, sect 4). Supporting Mexican Cartels against local law enforcement afford them a direct border with the United States, keeping them as one of the top exporters of cocaine to the US (Walser, 2008, sect 1). Receiving such a massive amount of money to conduct such relatively low cost attacks that are common with guerrilla-type warfare allow this organization to operate at an extremely high rate, and very efficiently. Their ties with other countries allow them to be supported through other means as well. The have been given many safe havens inside of bordering Ecuador, medical aid from Cuba, and former Venezuelan President Chavez even fought internationally to have the FARC recognized globally as a “belligerent” within Colombia, and not just a terrorist organization (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, n.d., sect 5). As far as the aspect of training, their large budget has allowed them to bring in training from organizations throughout the world, some of them having ties to other criminal and terrorist organizations, one of the most noteworthy being training in explosives directly from the …show more content…
It is no secret that the United States has been combating the overwhelming drug problem, both internally and externally, which is why the United States has given billions of dollars in aid to Colombia throughout the years, in an effort to combat the FARC and their drug trade (Brodzinsky & Watts, 2016, para 21). In fact, the United States has actually been the biggest financial supporter in the fight against the FARC (Brodzinsky et al., 2016, para 21). In 2008, during a raid on the FARC, three computers were collected, containing information that could lead to possible ties with terrorist organizations in the Middle East (Walser, 2008, sect 1). One of these computers showed direct ties between then Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, and the FARC (Walser, 2008, sect 1). This is an alarming discovery because of the direct ties that Venezuela has with Iran and connections with other terrorist organizations. This creates an unbroken connection between the FARC and other threats to the United States, offering a very near outlet to reach American
The United States has many enemies, both foreign and domestic. While everyone realizes that the threat of terrorism is a real and imminent threat, many do not recognize this threat from any area other than the Middle East. For this reason, it is important to focus all over the world, and address each threat on an individual basis, especially whenever that threat is only a few hundred miles away from American soil. This threat, is the Colombian based organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Not only is it possible for them to conduct an attack on American soil, recent events have heightened the urgency for any such attack. To better understand what kind of threat the United States faces from the …show more content…
It is common knowledge that Colombia has been, and still is one of the leading exporters of cocaine in the world. According the Colombian Defense Minister in 2016, the FARC could be receiving as much as $3.5 billion, through drug trade alone (Renwick, 2016, sect 4). Supporting Mexican Cartels against local law enforcement afford them a direct border with the United States, keeping them as one of the top exporters of cocaine to the US (Walser, 2008, sect 1). Receiving such a massive amount of money to conduct such relatively low cost attacks that are common with guerrilla-type warfare allow this organization to operate at an extremely high rate, and very efficiently. Their ties with other countries allow them to be supported through other means as well. The have been given many safe havens inside of bordering Ecuador, medical aid from Cuba, and former Venezuelan President Chavez even fought internationally to have the FARC recognized globally as a “belligerent” within Colombia, and not just a terrorist organization (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, n.d., sect 5). As far as the aspect of training, their large budget has allowed them to bring in training from organizations throughout the world, some of them having ties to other criminal and terrorist organizations, one of the most noteworthy being training in explosives directly from the …show more content…
It is no secret that the United States has been combating the overwhelming drug problem, both internally and externally, which is why the United States has given billions of dollars in aid to Colombia throughout the years, in an effort to combat the FARC and their drug trade (Brodzinsky & Watts, 2016, para 21). In fact, the United States has actually been the biggest financial supporter in the fight against the FARC (Brodzinsky et al., 2016, para 21). In 2008, during a raid on the FARC, three computers were collected, containing information that could lead to possible ties with terrorist organizations in the Middle East (Walser, 2008, sect 1). One of these computers showed direct ties between then Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, and the FARC (Walser, 2008, sect 1). This is an alarming discovery because of the direct ties that Venezuela has with Iran and connections with other terrorist organizations. This creates an unbroken connection between the FARC and other threats to the United States, offering a very near outlet to reach American