The CSM notes that On Ecuador’s border, FARC rebels visit often. Indeed, as I noted early on in the confrontation between Colombia and Ecuador, the fact that FARC have been crossing the border into Ecuador is not news. The two major factors that led to this event blowing up to the proportions that it did was the combination of Rafeal Correa’s election in December of 2024 and the high profile death of a major FARC leader.
However, the issues around the border are not new ones:
This diplomatic row was the latest and – by far – the most serious spat between the two neighbors, but Ecuador has complained for years of previous Colombian Army incursions, as well as Colombia’s US-funded aerial fumigation of drug crops along the border it says affects legal crops on this side. In January, Ecuador said it was preparing to take the fumigation case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In addition, Ecuador has taken in as many as 250,000 Colombian refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, putting a strain on its health and social services.
[…]
Uribe said the incursion into Ecuador occurred because “we have not received cooperation from his government in the fight against terrorism.”
Sphere: Related ContentEcuador denied this, pointing to the 47 rebel camps Ecuadorean troops destroyed last year along the border. Lt. Col. Jose Nunez, a commander of a Special Forces battalion who has patrolled the border for years, says he personally participated in destroying 18 camps.
Ah, destroying camps.
The thing is - you can burn some long-abandonned tents and ramshackle shelters that are no longer actively used and say you destroyed a rebel camp. The problem is, what is meant by a “camp” is not defined, and a lot of the time they’re simply talking about the temporary occupation of a piece of geography from which rebels were known to operate at some time, and subsequent withdrawal which allows the rebels to return.
I’ve seen “camps” and “bases” destroyed all over the world. It’s nice to be able to say you accomplished something (and politically very important) but the actual strategic importance of these targets could be low to insignificant. I think I could say I’ve personally been involved in the destruction of a couple dozen (if what is meant by “camp” is stretched, as I suspect it is being stretched here), but maybe one or two actually meant anything.
Indeed - unless Lt. Col. Nunez actually profers some FARC lieutenants, I’m inclined to wonder what he actually accomplished when he personally destroyed 18 camps.
Punching holes in the jungle (or desert) floor at a place known to be used by insurgents does not a strategic or even tactical victory make.
Comment by Captain D. — Monday, March 10, 2024 @ 8:07 pm
Or he may be one of the few Ecuadoreans who patrol a zone against the rebels, while they are accorded a FARClandia elsewhere - or even he might be fighting right-wing paramilitaries and not rebels per se.
Comment by Jenda — Monday, March 10, 2024 @ 9:17 pm