There are reports of Colombian armed factions asking for special IDs in their areas, which shows that criminal groups are gaining more control over territories while the government is negotiating peace.
During a congressional debate on March 12, Senator Jonathan Pulido Hernández reported that the dissidents of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) have been issuing and regulating IDs for residents of the departments of Tolima and Huila, in central Colombia.
Hernández said that truck drivers operating in these regions must carry a special license to enter and transit through territories controlled by FARC dissidents, also known as the ex-FARC mafia. Those who do not comply with this requirement are fined or expelled from the area.
In late February, the Ombudsman’s Office issued a notice about another case of “parallel” ID cards demanded by ex-FARC dissidents in the municipality of Jamundí, located in the department of Valle del Cauca.
“We have heard of incidents in which, if a person does not carry or does not have an ID card, they are detained by the guerrillas, including adolescents and women. They also investigate them, charge them fines, or pressure them into forced labor for a few days,” said Ombudsman Carlos Camargo Assis during a presentation of the report.
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In addition to the cases in Valle del Cauca, Tolima, and Huila, the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC), a coalition of ex-FARC factions, has used this form of social control in its territories in Meta, Nariño, Antioquia, and Cauca.
The increase in ex-FARC control has occurred amid the Colombian government’s efforts to open peace talks and negotiate bilateral ceasefires with the country’s many armed groups.
“We know that this organization has taken advantage of the ceasefire to increase its numbers, consolidate territory, and to try to increase its illegal power in the territory,” Defense Minister Iván Velásquez said at a press conference in early April.
According to information from the Colombian Defense Ministry published by La Silla Vacía, the EMC went from having 3,545 armed men in 2022 to 3,860 in 2023, and their territorial presence expanded from 117 municipalities in 2022 to 172 in 2023.
InSight Crime Analysis
In addition to controlling illegal economies and growing their membership, Colombia’s non-state armed groups have long shown their power by creating criminal governance systems in the areas they control.
Historically, Colombian insurgent groups like the now-disbanded FARC or the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) established their own government systems in areas where there was little state presence. This parallel social order has lasted for decades and has been a determining factor in the consolidation of criminal territories.
The use of IDs is one way that criminal groups use to enforce strict control, according to Luis Fernando Trejos, a professor at the Universidad del Norte and analyst of the Colombian conflict, as told to InSight Crime.
“When you sign up individuals with IDs you know who lives, who visits, and who remains in the area for a certain period of time,” he said.
Other researchers who research Colombia’s criminal situation argue that mandating ID cards issued by the ex-FARC mafia is a tactic for safeguarding against rival armed groups.
“It’s a way for them to recognize who’s an enemy because if you don’t have an ID, then you’re examined, you’re checked at the checkpoint, you’re asked questions about why you’re there,” Crisis Group senior analyst Elizabeth Dickinson told InSight Crime.
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Requiring a “community card,” as the EMC calls it, is just one of many aspects of criminal governance in Colombia.
Factions of the ex-FARC mafia and other criminal groups have also acted as a de facto government by creating parallel justice systems, collecting taxes, providing security services and law enforcement, and building roads.
Featured image: A series of IDs issued by FARC dissidents to extort truckers. Credit: El Colombiano