what ever leadership that is left. i wonder if Hugo
Chaves ring of circle is panicking.
July 3,
2008: FARC is falling apart at both ends, with its high
command infiltrated by government intelligence agencies, and
the lower ranks demoralized and surrendering or deserting in
growing numbers. The recent rescue of fifteen high value FARC
hostages showed the world, and the FARC leadership, how much the
government knew about the inner workings of FARC, especially how
the senior FARC leaders communicated with subordinates. It's not
like the FARC leadership couldn't see this coming. FARC has lost
three of its seven most senior leaders so far this year, in many
cases laptop computers and other electronic files
were captured. FARC seriously underestimated what the government
could do with this stuff. Now the FARC high command is in a panic,
and the FARC rank-and-file are even more demoralized. For the last
few months, FARC has been losing over 500 people a month to
desertions (mostly) and casualties (including people getting too
ill to continue because of the harsh life in the bush). FARC
strength is down to 8,000, and falling, mainly because recruiting
is becoming difficult. A decade ago, FARC has nearly 20,000 gunmen
on the payroll. The drug gangs are getting the best recruits these
days, and the gangs are now starting to move against FARC, to
reverse the process that, over the last decade, had enabled FARC to
become a major factor in the drug business (by either pushing the
drug gangs out, or forcing the gangs to pay "protection" money to
the FARC. This process is tempting the more successful FARC
commanders to just drop all the FARC political nonsense, and
concentrate on being a drug gangster. When it comes to money and
politics, most people view the latter as a means to obtain the
former.