Manuel Marulanda Velez

Pedro Antonio Marín Marín, known by his aliases of Manuel Marulanda Vélez and Tirofijo (Genoa, Colombia, May 13, 1930 - March 26, 2008, Meta, Colombia), was a Colombian communist peasant and guerrilla fighter, considered the most veteran in the world and of his time.

His first alias, 'Tirofijo', comes from his ability to hit the target when shooting firearms during his combat days, while that of 'Manuel Marulanda Vélez' It comes from a former communist leader assassinated during La Violencia and that he adopted as a tribute.

He co-founded the guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) with alias Jacobo Arenas and belonged to its governing body (FARC-EP Secretariat) since its founding in 1964 until his death in 2008.

Biography

Early Years

Pedro Antonio Marín Marín was born in Génova, at that time, a municipality in the department of Caldas, currently belonging to the department of Quindío. There is controversy about the date of his birth, and it is not clear if it took place in May 1928 or 1930. He was the son of liberal peasants who lived in Ceylon (Valle del Cauca). His father was Pedro Pablo Marín Quinceno and his mother was Rosa Delia Rodríguez and his stepfather Ramiro Betancourt. His siblings were Rosa Helena, Jesús Antonio, Obdulia and Rosa María.

Her grandfather Ángel Marín, from Antioquia with liberal tendencies, was a combatant in the Thousand Days' War. Marín attended the fifth grade at school. At the age of 13 he left home.

The Time of Violence

Marín worked as a meat vendor, baker, candy vendor, builder, shopkeeper, and merchant. As a supporter of Liberals, Marín reportedly participated in the Bogotazo riots in 1948, after the assassination of Liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. A wave of repression and bipartisan violence intensified, known as La Violencia, within which many liberal and left-wing peasants created armed self-defense groups to protect themselves from the actions of the most violent conservatives known as 'chulavitas' or 'birds' and the National Army, these self-defense groups will later be divided between 'clean' and 'ordinary' communists. Marín would take the alias Manuel Marulanda as a tribute to a communist leader assassinated in Bogotá during La Violencia in 1953 by the Colombian Intelligence Service. He initially participated on the side of the liberal guerrillas of Gerardo Loaiza and later by separating between clean and common in called the Davis command, forms communist self-defense groups together with Jacobo Prías Álape 'Charro Negro' among others to the South of Tolima.

These groups demobilized during the amnesty decreed by the military government of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. Marulanda was a works inspector in Gaitania, municipality of Planadas (Tolima). With some political training, he dedicated himself to organizing the peasants, demanding community works from the central government, such as roads, bridges, health posts and soft loans.

National Front and FARC-EP Foundation

Agreement was made and the National Front started, between liberals and conservatives, these armed rural communities had already taken on a more autonomous character and an ideological trend closer to agrarian communism, which is why some from the left call them " liberated zones", a tense peace was maintained in the country between 1958 and 1960, the product of the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Southern Tolima, which silenced their weapons, but had refused to hand them over, arguing that they distrusted this bipartisan alliance.

On January 11, 1960, the communist leader Jacobo Prías Alape 'Charro Negro' who had benefited from the Rojas Pinilla amnesty (considered the beginning of the internal armed conflict in Colombia) was assassinated in Gaitania (Tolima). Marulanda traveled to Neiva and Ibagué to denounce the murder. The response of the National Army was clear: "Now we are going there to impose order." Marulanda understood the message and, back in Gaitania, reorganized his men, abandoning the work tools to return to arms.

In June 1961, the IX Congress of the Communist Party approved the thesis of combining all forms of struggle, as a sign of support for the communist self-defense groups.

Although they were still mostly defensive, the government considered them a threat as they were considered "independent republics," especially after the declarations of the then conservative senator Álvaro Gómez, on October 25, 1961. where the authority and the centralist legality that was intended to be restored had no influence. In January 1962, fighting confronted the Marulanda Peasant Self-Defense Forces with the National Army in Marquetalia, southern Tolima. self-defense forces and kill 16 of their members. On December 29, a supply column of the National Army is ambushed between Planadas and Gaitania (5 soldiers killed). In March 1964 an Aerotaxi plane was shot down. When two soldiers try to rescue the corpses, they are killed.

Between May and June 1964, the decision was made by the government to definitively put an end to these autonomous redoubts by force and impose state domination, for which "Operation Sovereignty" against the Republic of Marquetalia, where Manuel Marulanda was. This action by the army dispersed the settlements, forcing Manuel Marulanda and other peasants who participated in these militias, as well as a dozen men, to go into the mountains. On May 20, 1964, during Operation Sovereignty, Manuel Marulanda and approximately 300 people sent a letter to then President Guillermo León Valencia, demanding the withdrawal of troops from Marquetalia and asking for the construction of roads, health centers, and schools., return of assets and public trials against the military. The letter was never answered, nor was it possible to mediate by Camilo Torres Restrepo, Orlando Fals Borda, among others, to stop the fighting.

Shortly after, these survivors (46 peasants and 2 peasant women) known as 'los marquetalianos' they would organize under the leadership of Marulanda and members of the Communist Party to create a subversive force known as the Southern Block and which in 1966 took the name of FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

Alleged deaths in 1964 and 1970

In 1964, the Colombian government presumed that Marin and the rest of the rebel commanders had died in the bombardments of Marquetalia. It was a false rumor about his death accompanied by several others, sometimes fallen in combat, sick with gangrenous wounds, and even a victim of poisonous ants.

In November 1970, the newspaper El Espacio published a series of chronicles in which it was said that Marín had confronted troops of the National Army who inflicted a fatal wound on his chest. This and many other stories lost all credibility when Marulanda would come to light in various interviews prior to the peace talks with the government of Belisario Betancur.

Manuel Marulanda and Jacobo Arenas in the 1980s.

Peace negotiations with the Betancur government

In 1982, the FARC took the name of FARC-EP (adding the acronym EP or People's Army to its name), taking on new military and political objectives. In 1982, the recently elected president Belisario Betancur launched his project to achieve peace without military means, inviting the FARC-EP, the M-19, among other groups to start peace talks. Marín agrees to meet with the Peace Commission and agrees on a place in the municipality of La Uribe, Meta, the negotiation site. After several months of dialogue, the FARC-EP and the government sign the La Uribe Accords.

"We endorse with our signatures the Ceasefire, truce and peace policy advanced by the secretary and order the whole movement to cease fire with the adversary on May 24, 1984 at 00:00 to begin a trial and truce of one year...

Manuel Marulanda. Reading of truce and peace agreements in Casa Verde, La Uribe on the night of May 23, 1984

From these agreements the Patriotic Union was born, a party and political movement formed not only by members of the guerrilla but also by union organizations, human rights organizations, etc. Marulanda was not very involved in the UP affair, but together with Jacobo Arenas, he maintained his position as commander of the FARC-EP, criticized the extermination of UP militants, and called for the dismantling of paramilitaries in Colombia. A famous phrase that he said to Peace Commissioner John Agudelo Ríos is remembered:

• John Agudelo Rios: Don Manuel, what if we realize peace?

• Manuel Marulanda Vélez: I return to work in Genoa (Quindío) on the farm where I lived as a child, if it still exists.

In 1985, as part of the agreements between La Uribe and the FARC-EP, together with other political groups in the country, the Patriotic Union was created, which was the victim of a political genocide or dirty war against left-wing groups. In 1987, together with the other guerrillas that were fighting the Colombian government (ELN, EPL, M-19, PRT, MAQL), the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinator was created.

The National Army, on December 9, 1990, by order of President César Gaviria, attacked Casa Verde, headquarters of the FARC-EP secretariat, which managed to flee the attack.

Peace talks with the Gaviria government

After the takeover of Casa Verde, the FARC-EP meet with a new Peace Commission after the takeover of the Venezuelan Embassy by the guerrillas. The parties met first in Cravo Norte, Arauca and then moved to Caracas, Venezuela, but after the February 1992 coup in Venezuela, the talks moved to Tlaxcala, Mexico, with Alfonso Cano as negotiator. However, the talks broke down due to the kidnapping and death of former Algerian minister Durán Quintero at the hands of the EPL.

Presumed death in 1995

In 1995, a radio station reported that 'Manuel Marulanda' had died and that the death had been confirmed by the member of the FARC-EP secretariat Iván Márquez to the same station. However, everything turned out to be false. The FARC-EP reached its greatest military power between the late 1990s and early 2000s. Strengthened by drug trafficking and kidnapping, they executed military and terrorist plans in Colombia, as a strategy counterinsurgency, the paramilitaries were strengthened, as well as the Public Force through Plan Colombia. In 1997, the United States Defense Intelligence Agency had diagnosed with the precarious state of the National Army that subversion was in a position to defeat it militarily.

Peace negotiations with the Pastrana government

Marín met with the then candidate for the presidency of Colombia, Andrés Pastrana and they agreed to meet once the president of Colombia is out to start a peace process. In November 1998, the FARC-EP and the Government, in a meeting between Marín and Pastrana, agreed on a demilitarized zone in Caquetá. 34;empty chair", where Marulanda was to sit to represent the beginning of the peace talks with Pastrana. Marulanda did not attend, arguing that they were going to attempt on his life and that security was not guaranteed, an excuse that was never believed by the government and public opinion. According to Pastrana, Marulanda did not attend because if Marulanda had sat down, the Colombians would believe that the guerrillas signed peace while the subversives of the FARC-EP would believe that their leader turned himself in to the Colombian State and that would cause him problems later.

Even so, the peace talks continued without a ceasefire, the government implemented Plan Colombia to put an end to illicit crops, the plan was harshly criticized by the FARC-EP, NGOs, and international organizations and neighboring governments, while the guerrillas carry out mass kidnappings (ironically called by the guerrillas as "miraculous catches"), antipersonnel mines, takeovers of towns, car bombs, ambushes, attacks and combats with the Public force. Pastrana decides to put an end to the demilitarized zone and the peace process.

Government of Álvaro Uribe and Presumed death in 2004

Since the government of Álvaro Uribe, confrontations have increased, especially with the Patriot Plan, weakening the FARC-EP and with scandals known as False Positives.

In February 2004, journalist Patricia Lara stated in Diners magazine that Marín was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had no more than six months to live. The statement was never denied.. However, the authorities found dozens of communications directed and written by the top commander on Raúl Reyes's computer, making it clear that at least until the end of 2007, Marín was still alive.

Acknowledgment

During his historic speech at the UN in December 1964, Commander Ernesto "Che" Guevara referred to Marulanda in his reply to the diplomatic representative of Colombia:

Does not the representative of Colombia recall that in Marquetalia there are forces to which the 11 Colombian newspapers themselves have called "The Independent Republic of Marquetalia" and one of whose leaders has been put on the nickname of Tirofijo to try to turn it into a vulgar bandolero?

Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Address at the UN, December 11, 1964.

He was also recognized by Fidel Castro:

“I considered and considered that Marulanda was one of the most outstanding Colombian and Latin American guerrillas. When many names of mediocre politicians are forgotten, Marulanda will be recognized as one of the most worthy and firm fighters for the well-being of the peasants, the workers and the poor in Latin America.”

Fidel Castro Ruz

Despite which Castro would also express differences in the military conceptions of Marulanda.

Death

On January 24, 2008, the Brazilian newspaper 'Correio Brasiliense,' citing documents attributed to the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIM), noted that Marín had cancer and that there was a dispute over leadership in the FARC-EP.

On May 24, 2008, the Colombian magazine Semana published an interview with Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos in which he mentioned that Colombian intelligence agencies presumed that Marín He had died on March 26 at 6:30 p.m., apparently due to natural causes or cardiac arrest. This information was confirmed on May 25 in a video, delivered to the Telesur channel, where one of the leaders appears, alias Timochenko or Timoleón Jiménez, which confirms the death of Marín. Several left-wing organizations such as the MIR echoed his death in later months.

On February 1, 2009, a demobilized guerrilla from the FARC-EP delivered the first photos of the dead guerrilla to La Nación newspaper, from Neiva, Colombia. He wears a new camouflage, with his hands crossed on his chest and, according to the words of & # 34; Anayibe & # 34;, a demobilized guerrilla & # 34; The displacement was tortuous. The improvised coffin was protected by three security rings, made up of 250 men. The coffin was displaced in the middle of a thick jungle that connects Guaviare with Meta. The tour took two weeks and was done in complete silence. All the members of the Secretariat kept the secret. The instruction was to hide it until the succession of command was defined." His partner during his last years was Griselda Lobo Silva alias 'Sandra Ramírez', and they had 13 children before his last relationship. He was succeeded by Alfonso Cano in the command of the FARC-EP.

Tributes

As a tribute, a controversial statue was placed in Caracas (Venezuela), another on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, and has received tributes from the then FARC-EP and the now party of the Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común. Supposedly, a clandestine circulation book called Letters and Documents of Manuel Marulanda Vélez (1993-1998) was published as a tribute. Even some dissidents today continue to commemorate Marulanda's departure.

Criticism

Like the other sides in the internal armed conflict in Colombia, the FARC-EP led by Marulanda committed abuses against other combatants and the civilian population throughout the war. Non-governmental organizations calculate that their responsibility would correspond to around 20 percent (from 15 to 25 depending on the different moments) of the annual political assassinations in the conflict. The FARC-EP is also considered responsible for a high number of war detentions, child recruitment, the laying of antipersonnel mines, and acts of terrorism. The FARC-EP are on the list of organizations considered terrorist by the United States Department of State and its equivalent within the European Union. The United Nations has condemned several of his actions as war crimes.

Because of all these facts, in 2001 Human Rights Watch asked Manuel Marulanda to make decisions to correct the abuses of his men, but the FARC-EP Commander has not responded directly to these communications. Human Rights Watch he considers that his criticisms were ignored or diverted by the command of the terrorist organization: "Commander Marulanda has not responded to a single one of the concerns we raised. Instead of taking our criticisms seriously, he has issued a harangue that diverts attention from the real issues."

Other FARC-EP spokesmen have responded that they believe that these organizations would not be judging them correctly and that the guerrillas as such would not be subject to international humanitarian law that one of their commanders considered a "bourgeois concept& #34;. Faced with this response, critics of the FARC-EP in the area of human rights have answered that international humanitarian law does legally affect that guerrilla and even more so if it is considered a belligerent party in the conflict.

Among the many accusations against him was the sentence established by the Superior Court of Antioquia, Pedro Antonio Marín together with the leadership of the FARC-EP, are responsible for the kidnapping and death of the former defense minister, Gilberto Echeverri Mejía, the former governor of Antioquia, Guillermo Gaviria Correa and eight soldiers.

Crimes of the FARC-EP at the head of Marulanda

When Marulanda was a leader of the FARC-EP, he recognized the authorship of his group and the following crimes are attributed to him, several of them condemned by the international community, the UN, the OAS, among other organizations and NGOs.

• Alvaro Gómez Hurtado, Bogotá (1995). Crime is in preliminary investigation. Autoria recognized by the FARC-EP in 2020.
• Murder of eleven policemen with a burro bomb, North Colombia (1996): [1]
• Attack on Club El Nogal in Bogotá, 36 dead and 158 wounded: [2] (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last).
• UN condemns FARC-EP for war crimes in Arauca, Colombia (2006))[3] (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last).
• The 11 deputies of the Valley were killed with 95 AK-47 gunshots, the weapon used by the FARC-EP (2007)
• ONIC condemns massacre against Awa population in Nariño Colombia (2009): [4] (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last).
• The OAS Condemns FARC-EP for Crimes Against the Awás (2010) [5]

Filmography

• Río Chiquito - Jean Pierre Sergent (1965)
• 50 years on the Mount - Yves Billon (1999)

In popular culture

• It was played by Ivan Rodriguez in the series Three Caines as Commander fixed point.
• Mentioned in The Barcino de Silva y Villalba.
• Mentioned in The run of the guerrilla and the paraco of Uriel Henao.
• Mentioned in 12 October Shame Day de Nega.
• Mentioned in several songs of Julián Conrado.
• It was mentioned, on it sleeve and anime, Black Lagoon, third season, Ova 4 and 5.