![Drug seizure: A Colombian National Army Soldier guards packages of marijuana the Military seized in Cali in April, 2014. The Army seized about 1.2 tons of marijuana in a rural area in the Department of Cauca, where the FARC is active in drug trafficking. At least 17 FARC operatives have left the terrorist group to traffic drugs exclusively. [Luis Robayo/AFP]](https://qcolombia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FARC-650_431.jpg)
In recent months, at least 17 FARC operatives have left the group to commit themselves exclusively to drug trafficking. Their departure hurts the finances of the illegal organization because they generated large amounts of revenue by trafficking drugs.
“The internal struggle is not only over ideological issues but also because there are large amounts of economic resources in play,” said Néstor Alfonso Rosanía Miño, a security analyst at the Security, Defense, and International Affairs Research Center in Colombia.
‘Timochenko’ confirms internal struggle
Rodrigo Londoño Echeverry, known as “Timochenko” or “Timoleón Jiménez” and the FARC’s current leader, discussed the internal struggle in early December.
FARC has lost several operatives who have “taken full bore to drug trafficking,” Timochenko said according to El Tiempo December 7.
Reports from the Colombian National Army, the Colombian National Police, and United States security forces indicate that the 17 FARC operatives who left the organization “are exclusively committing themselves to large-scale trafficking of coca,” the newspaper reported.
Among those are two long-time FARC operatives who have been active in narco-trafficking: Juan de Jesús Rincón, who is known as “Grillo,” and José David Suárez, who is known as “Becerro.”
Becerro has connections with Mexican, Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, and Honduran drug trafficking organizations and is known for transporting large amounts of drugs. For instance, in April, the Colombian Navy, police agents, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor seized seven tons of cocaine at the Port of Cartagena. Law enforcement officials believe three of those belonged to Becerro.
He’s also known to be violent: police suspect that he is connected to the killings of eight people in October, whose bodies were found on a farm in the village of Pance, near Cali. The killings may have been part of a conflict between rival drug traffickers; one of the victims, who was identified as “J1”, was a member of an organization tied to the Clan Úsuga.
Armed Forces fight FARC drug trafficking
As the FARC undergoes its internal conflict, the Military and police forces are continuing to confront them.
For example, in 2014, members of the Armed Forces and police captured or killed more than 20 FARC operatives from Front 27 who engaged in drug trafficking. Another 40 members of Front 27 demobilized in 2014.
“The offensive against this front has been constant and successful thanks to joint operations in which intelligence and FAC [Colombian Air Force] aircraft have played an essential part,” the Air Force reported December 19. “The Armed Forces and the police will continue to relentlessly carry out operations against all narco-terrorist organizations that wish to disturb the peace, security, and well-being of Colombians.”
