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A guerrilla group founded in 1964, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reportedly control about 30 per cent of the country’s territory. Now reduced to about 8,000 fighters, the organisation has long given more priority to criminal activities than ideological struggle. It lost two of its historic leaders in 2008 - Raúl Reyes, who was killed by the army in Ecuadorean territory on 1 March, and Manuel Marulanda, also known as “Tirofijo” (Sure-Shot), who died a few weeks later, apparently of natural causes. Specialising in racketeering, drug trafficking and kidnapping (45 people were executed in 2006 because ransom was not paid), the FARC also tries to control or influence the news media. It has kidnapped about 50 journalists since 1997 and makes it almost impossible for the media to work in guerrilla-controlled areas. It has also carried out several sabotage campaigns against the transmitters of radio and TV stations considered hostile.
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