Page "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" Paragraph 2

The strength of the FARC – EP forces is indeterminate ; in 2007, the FARC said they were an armed force of 18, 000 men and women ; in 2010, the Colombian military calculated that FARC forces consisted of approximately 18, 000 members, 50 per cent of which were armed guerrilla combatants ; and, in 2011, the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, said that the FARC – EP forces comprised fewer than 8, 000 members.

From 1999 to 2008 the guerrilla armies of the FARC and of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional ( National Liberation Army of Colombia ) controlled approximately 30 – 35 per cent of the national territory of Colombia.

The greatest concentrations of FARC guerrilla forces are in the south-eastern regions of Colombia ’ s of jungle, and in the plains at the base of the Andean mountain chain.