Home > Terrorism Reference > Appendix: Terrorist Group Profiles

Below are brief profiles of some terrorist groups operating at the end of the twentieth century and in the first years of the twenty-first century.

Colombia

National Liberation Army (ELN)

The National Liberation Army (ELN) was formed in 1965 by Colombians inspired by the revolution in Cuba led by Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara in the 1950s. (Castro and Guevara led a revolution that overthrew the leader of Cuba in 1956. They became allies of the Soviet Union—today, Russia and neighboring countries—which was ruled by the Communist Party. Communists believe in an ideology under which the government, rather than individuals, controls major factories, mines, and farmland, and, in theory, distributes the wealth to its citizens as needed.) The ELN aims at replacing Colombia's government with a Communist regime. It has carried out a long string of hijackings, kidnappings, bombings, and guerrilla...