1999–2002 FARC–Government peace process
The FARC-Government peace process (1999–2002) (Spanish: Proceso de Paz entre las FARC y el gobierno Pastrana), from January 7, 1999, to February 20, 2002, was a failed peace process between the Government of President Andrés Pastrana Arango and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group in an effort to bring to an end the ongoing Colombian armed conflict.
The FARC began their rebel activities in the early 1960s during the National Front years in which bipartisan hegemony controlled and held political power.
The Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar also became an enemy later of the FARC in a struggle to control the profitable illegal drug trafficking business.
The United States also conditioned its support for the government, focusing mainly on aiding the military forces on operations against narcotics, that would ultimately help bring down the Cali Cartel.
Pastrana then appointed Victor G. Ricardo as High Commissioner for Peace and held conversations with Manuel Marulanda Velez (aka Tirofijo) top commander of the FARC on June 15, 1998.
President Pastrana said that "the absence of Manuel Marulanda Velez cannot be a reason to not continue with the instalment of the dialogue to agree on an agenda that will conduct us to peace".
On January 11, guerrilla commander Jorge Briceño threatened to kidnap high-profile people if the government did not comply with FARC's demands for a prisoner exchange.
The FARC had purportedly frozen the peace talks because of the government's spraying of glyphosate to eradicate illegal crops as stated in the Plan Colombia.
[2] Between February 25 and March 11, three American indigenous-rights activists, Terence Freitas, Lahe'ena'e Gay, and Ingrid Washinawatok were abducted by the FARC in Arauca Department and later assassinated.
From April 20 to May 1, both parties met unofficially in El Caguan to discuss the paramilitary issue and the FARC's demands to expand the area of the demilitarized zone, which was due to expire on May 7, and to extend the timeframe.
The High Commissioner for Peace's remarks suggesting an extension of the demilitarized area for the FARC triggered a discontent in some servicemen in the Colombian military; 18 generals also tried to resign but the president only accepted Lloreda's.
They held talks without results with guerrilla commander Raúl Reyes regarding the drug trade, kidnappings and the assassination of US citizens, specially related to the three US indigenous workers.
[5] Between 8–12 July the FARC launched an armed offensive (called by them as "armed strikes" from the Spanish: paro armado), in which the guerrilla group attacked 15 small towns and targeted infrastructure; mainly commercial banks, bridges and energy infrastructure, random kidnappings (Colloquially called in Colombian Spanish: pescas milagrosas) as well as assaulting numerous National Police small posts.
