- Iván Márquez
Luciano Marín Arango, aka "Ivan Marquez" (born 1955 in Florencia, Caqueta) is
Colombia n guerrilla leader, member of theRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), part of its Secretariat higher command and advisor to the Northwestern and Caribbean blocs.Early years
Marín Arango joined the
Colombian Communist Party 's youth wing in 1977. He later joined a support network for the FARC guerrilla group. [http://www.pacocol.org/es/Inicio/Ar/chivo_de_noticias/Noviembre07/175.html es icon ¿Quién es Iván Márquez?, delegado de las Farc ante el presidente Chávez] ]FARC membership
Luciano Marín Arango, adopting the alias "Ivan Marquez", became a
political commissar for FARC's 14th Front in 1985.Patriotic Union career
As a result of peace talks with the Colombian government, Marín Arango became part of the leftist Patriotic Union (UP) party, coordinating the UP's activities in Department of Caqueta . Marín Arango first served as councilman and then as congressman in the Colombian Congress representing Caquetá. [http://www.eltiempo.com/tiempoimpreso/edicionimpresa/politica/2007-11-11/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3810102.html es icon El Tiempo: Ex ministro de Chávez, cerebro de la visita de las Farc a Caracas] ]
The UP party was subjected to persecution by different paramilitary groups, drug lords and death squads that saw the party as a threat as the political branch of the FARC.
FARC commander
By 1988, Iván Márquez had left the UP and returned to FARC as block commander, overseeing activities in the departments of Huila, Caquetá and Putumayo.
After the 1990 death of
Jacobo Arenas , Márquez joined the Secretariat, the highest command of the organization. During the mid-1990s, he was transferred to Colombia's northwest in order to reorganize FARC forces after paramilitary attacks.Recent documents obtained from the computer of slain FARC chieftain Ivan Rios revealed that he also led FARC's efforts to infiltrate universities and high schools. "Through the creation of two student federations, some academics and other secondary officials, and by the infiltration of already existing university movements" the FARC sought to penetrate centers of learning, [Colombian DAS intelligence director María del Pilar] Hurtado told Spanish news agency EFE.
Colombian armed conflict . [cite web | title = Las Farc le dicen a Chávez que sin un despeje militar en Colombia es imposible avanzar en el intercambio humanitario | publisher = Colombia Reports | date =September 17 ,2008 | url = http://colombiareports.com/colombian-news/news/1250-farc-infiltrated-high-schools-says-colombian-intelligence.html | language = English | accessdate = 2008-09-17]FARC Negotiator
Marquez was a FARC negotiator during the 1999-2002 failed peace process between the FARC and the government of
Andres Pastrana .Humanitarian exchange
In November 2007 Marquez was sent to
Venezuela to meet with Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez . Chavez is mediating between the government of Colombia and the FARC to agree on a deal to liberate the hostages held by the FARC and the liberation of some 500 guerrillas imprisoned by the government of Colombia, after years of combats in theColombian armed conflict . [cite web | title = Las Farc le dicen a Chávez que sin un despeje militar en Colombia es imposible avanzar en el intercambio humanitario | publisher = Semana.com | date =November 8 ,2007 | url = http://www.semana.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?idArt=107570 | language = Spanish | accessdate = 2007-11-14]US State Department Allegations & Bounty
According to the
US Department of State , he oversaw loading of planes carrying 600-1200 kilograms of cocaine and the receipt of money and automatic weapons as payment. The state department also alleges him of setting the FARC’s cocaine policies for directing and controlling the production, manufacture, and distribution of hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States and the world; the "taxation" of the drug trade in Colombia to raise funds for theFARC ; and the murder of hundreds of people who violated or interfered with the FARC’s cocaine policies and/or political agenda. They are offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction [cite web | title = Luciano Marin Arango | publisher =U.S. Department of State | work= Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs-Narcotics Rewards Program | url = http://www.state.gov/p/inl/narc/rewards/63842.htm | accessdate = 2007-11-14 ]References
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