National Liberation Army (Colombia)

National Liberation Army
Participant in the Colombian armed conflict (1964–present)
Flag and logo of the ELN
Active	1964 – present
Ideology	Marxism–Leninism Liberation theology National liberation Foco theory
Leaders	Antonio García Francisco Galán
Area of operations	Colombia
Strength	2,500 ( 2016)
Allies	FARC
Opponents	Government of Colombia Right-wing paramilitary groups Government of the United States

The National Liberation Army (Spanish: Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) is an armed group involved in the continuing Colombian armed conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocate a composite communist ideology of Marxism and liberation theology. They conduct military operations throughout the national territory of Colombia; in 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. The ELN is the lesser known of two communist guerrilla armies who operate in Colombia; the other guerrilla army is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) who are Marxist–Leninist in their approach to the national liberation of Colombia. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, Peru,United States,Canada and the European Union.

The National Liberation Army of Colombia (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) was founded in 1964, by Fabio Vásquez Castaño and other Colombian rebels trained in Communist Cuba; upon the Vásquez Castaño death, the ELN was headed by a series of Roman Catholic priests, exponents of Liberation Theology. Most notable was the Priest Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929–66), a well-known university professor (egalitarian and Marxist) who was openly critical of the grossly unequal distribution of income among the social classes of Colombia. His attraction to the radical ideas of Liberation Theology led him to join the ELN, a guerrilla army intent upon effecting the revolutionary praxis of liberation theology among the poor people of Colombia. Father Camilo was killed in his first combat as an ELN guerrilla, and so became the exemplar ELN soldier, to be emulated by ELN guerrillas and by other liberation-theology priests from the lower ranks of the Roman Catholic priesthood.