Criminal Justice

Compose a minimum 300-word response to one of the following prompts using ct2learn and additional resources:

1- Explain international threats as they apply in today’s world as it relates to North and South America and a futurist perspective.
2- Describe the history of terrorist events and, through weekly reading and postings, explain the historical progression of international terrorist events as it relates to North and South America and a futurist perspective.
3- Describe in detail a terror group from South America.
4- Describe a terror incident within North America that had ties to an international terror movement, such as the Boston Marathon Bombing for April 2013.
5- From a futurist perspective, explain in detail, through discussions, research, and postings, a specific application of preventative measures against international security threats
6- From a futurist perspective and from postings and class presentations, explain how the world is more secure post-9/11 from a threat perspective
7- From a futurist standpoint, explain the role of being a “leader in a changing threat environment” as it relates to solving short and long-term dynamic issues facing the international community.

ANSWER

The National Liberation Army

3 Describe in detail a terror group from South America; the National Liberation Army

Over the past decades, the world has experienced terror threats from different terrorist organizations. Compared to the rest of the world, South America has significantly lower rates of terrorism. Among the major terrorist organizations in South America is the National Liberation Army (ELN). According to the Center for International Security and Cooperation, the organization formed after Che Guevarra and the Cuban revolution inspired different groups of people, including catholic radicals, and students to join the ELN (CISAC, 2021). The main purpose of this coalition was to fight for democracy in Colombia.

Notably, the terrorist group differentiated itself from other organizations by avoiding drug trade and focusing on political goals. However, the group’s agenda changed in the late 1990 s when the ELN began to tax marijuana and coca farmers (CISAC, 2021). Another source of funding for the group is the use of kidnapping and extortion on oil executives. The ELN conducts hundreds of kidnappings per year, often demanding ransoms, as they mainly target employees from large companies. Despite such actions, the group’s mission was to overthrow the current government and grant more power to the citizens. A military review on the professional Journal of the U.S. Army suggests that the ELN has currently started using armed aerial drones on its targets in Colombia. The report also estimates the group’s population as around 1,000 armed men (Demarest, 2020). The organization’s success in South America is evidenced by the rapid increase in drug smuggling.

Between 2012 and 2017, research by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency found that 90% of cocaine in the United States originated from Colombia (Demarest, 2020). The groups’ success is linked to the significant support provided by Cuba, including political consultations and medical care. Consequently, the group has continued to further its political objectives, eventually expanding into Venezuela, following a close relationship with its officials. Today, the ENL faces opposition from the Urabenos due to conflicts over territorial control (Colombia, 2020). With its complex relations and the established control over drug trafficking, and smuggling, the ENL poses a major threat to the future of the South American region.

References

CISAC, (2021). National Liberation Army (ELN). Center for International Security and Cooperation. https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/national-liberation-army-eln

Colombia, (2020). ENL. https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/eln-profile/

Demarest, G. (2020). The National Liberation Army (ELN), Early 2020. Military Review, 100(4), 86. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/July-August-2020/Demarest-ELN/