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By Jeremy McDermott in Colombia\par
Colombia's largest and oldest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia - known as the FARC - has celebrated its 37th birthday and is stronger
than every before.\par
\par
\par
It played down the event with no major celebrations and, of more interest to most
Colombians, no major attacks.\par
\par
The FARC is one of the last Marxist guerrilla armies in Latin America where Che
Guevara and Fidel Castro's Cuba became a call-to-arms that rebels from Argentina
to Central America responded to.\par
\par
Almost all have laid down their arms, entering mainstream political life or
disappearing altogether.\par
\par
\par
FARC founder Manuel Marulanda can now boast 17,000 fighters\par
But the FARC now has 17,000 fighters and up to 40% of Colombia under its
control.\par
\par
The secret of its success is actually no secret at all. It is drugs.\par
\par
The explosive growth of the FARC began in the 1980's just as the United States
began to develop a craving for cocaine.\par
\par
Now where there are coca plantations - the raw material for cocaine - you will
most likely find the FARC, or find it attacking the area to get control of this
lucrative resource.\par
\par
Public aversion\par
\par
Only some five percent of the Colombian public support the FARC. The main reason
for the public's aversion is the group's policy of kidnapping.\par
\par
\par
The FARC is feeling the pressure following US military support for Colombia \par
There is one abduction every three hours in Colombia - the majority carried out by
the FARC or the country's second rebel force, the National Liberation Army.\par
\par
Nobody really knows how much the FARC has earned from drugs and kidnapping.
Estimates vary from between $300 million and $600 million every year.\par
\par
Enough, according to the US state department, to double its present strength.\par
\par
Despite over two years of peace talks between the government and the FARC, no
progress has been made and the rebels refuse to call a ceasefire.\par
\par
But the FARC has not had it all its own way, particularly in recent years.\par
\par
The Colombian army, flush with over a billion dollars of US military aid, is
improving its offensive capability.\par
\par
Clear aims\par
\par
And the right-wing paramilitary death squads, also funded by drugs and rich
Colombians sick of guerrilla kidnapping and extortion, are growing faster than the
rebels and now number over 8,000 fighters.\par
\par
Analysts are not optimistic about the chances for peace and the FARC has been very
open about its aims.\par
\par
If it cannot get what it wants at the negotiating table it plans to seize power
even if it takes another 37 years.\par
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