5. FARC Ambush Derails Peace Process
In April in 2015 the FARC and the Colombian government were in the middle of peace talks. Suddenly, the talks broke down. Both sides quickly pointed fingers at each other, but outside of negotiating rooms, casualties began to mount.
On April 15th the FARC launched one of their deadliest attacks in years. The FARC attacked a routine army patrol at about midnight. In the ensuing gunfight 11 soldiers were killed and dozens more were injured. At the time, it appeared that both sides were still under a cease-fire. The soldiers had no reason to suspect that they were going to be attacked.
The attacks occurred in a mountainous region. Given the terrain and time of night, it’s not difficult to imagine how the FARC were able to get the upper hand on the government troops. The government claims that the troops were merely on patrol, carrying out “territorial control” and ensuring the protection of civilians. FARC leaders claimed that the soldiers were engaged in “military operations” and that it was the government soldiers who initiated the attack.
Of course, it’s hard to know who is telling the truth. Given the high number of government casualties, and the fact that only one rebel was killed, however, it’s likely that the FARC initiated the attack and caught the soldiers off guard. As for reasoning, FARC leaders may have been trying to pressure the government into making more concessions.
It appears that the plan backfired, however. As a result, the government resumed its aerial bombardment of FARC positions. It’s hard to determine how many rebels died as a result of the bombardment, but peace talks were certainly strained. At the time, the FARC and Colombian government had been negotiating for about two years, with most of the talks taking place in Havana.
Eventually, a dead would be made, but as we already know, the Colombian people rejected it. Given the events above, it’s not hard to imagine why the Colombian people were so dead set against a peace deal with the FARC.