ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and compares it with the collective political violence transformative (CPVT) model. To understand better the transformation of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (FARC-EP), one has to understand its development within the historical development of Colombia. In examining data collected by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on coca cultivation by department in Colombia and then comparing it against known areas of FARC-EP operation, one can start to draw some preliminary conclusions about FARC-EP involvement in the cocaine business. FARC- EP's argument that it became involved in the cocaine trade to help the masses may be an example of false rhetoric. False rhetoric is used to justify the actions of the guerrilla movement even though those actions are not consistent with the rhetoric being used. The military had become increasingly agitated about the lack of action taken against FARC-EP and other guerrilla movements.
