Antonio García
Encyclopedia
Antonio García nom de guerre of Eliécer Erlington Chamorro Acosta (born 10 January 1956 in Mocoa
, Putumayo Department
), one of the main commanders of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (usually abbreviated to ELN), or National Liberation Army
.
The ELN is a revolution
ary, Marxist, insurgent
guerrilla
group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia
since 1966. Less known than the FARC
, it is estimated to be smaller, having between 3,500 to 5,000 men in arms.
It is said that Jacobo Arenas
(the "nom de guerre" of Luis Morantes), a founder and ideological leader of the FARC-EP, was seen as hero by the García, who once stated in an interview to a Latin American journalist that he considered Arenas to be a hero, just as he considered Simón Bolívar
, José Martí
and Che Guevara
to be heroes.
On May 26, 2008 Ecuadorean and Colombian media reported the arrest of García in Ecuador. The Ecuadorean military said they "probably" did have him in custody, but needed to do more investigation to be sure. The arrest proved to be a mistake. The arrested guerrilla was identified as Willington Claro Arévalo, alias 'Antonio'.
Mocoa
Mocoa is a municipality and capital city of the department of Putumayo in Colombia.The city is located in the northwest of the Putumayo department. The municipality borders the departments of Nariño to the west and Cauca to the north.-External links:...
, Putumayo Department
Putumayo Department
Putumayo is a department of Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa.The word putumayo comes from the Quechua language. The verb putuy means "to spring forth" or "to burst out", and mayo is a variant of mayu, meaning river...
), one of the main commanders of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (usually abbreviated to ELN), or National Liberation Army
National Liberation Army (Colombia)
National Liberation Army is a revolutionary, avowed Marxist guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964....
.
The ELN is a revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ary, Marxist, insurgent
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
since 1966. Less known than the FARC
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
, it is estimated to be smaller, having between 3,500 to 5,000 men in arms.
It is said that Jacobo Arenas
Jacobo Arenas
Jacobo Arenas was a Colombian guerrilla and ideological leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He was also one of the FARC figures involved in the organization and creation of the Patriotic Union political party in 1985...
(the "nom de guerre" of Luis Morantes), a founder and ideological leader of the FARC-EP, was seen as hero by the García, who once stated in an interview to a Latin American journalist that he considered Arenas to be a hero, just as he considered Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
and Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
to be heroes.
On May 26, 2008 Ecuadorean and Colombian media reported the arrest of García in Ecuador. The Ecuadorean military said they "probably" did have him in custody, but needed to do more investigation to be sure. The arrest proved to be a mistake. The arrested guerrilla was identified as Willington Claro Arévalo, alias 'Antonio'.