The Northwestern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the Iván Ríos Bloc^[1] has historically been a strong influence in the Medellín and Antioquia regions, and still is today. It has been among the blocs most seriously targeted by President Uribe´s defense plan and the Colombian Army's offensive. Due to this, the bloc has been forced to retreat to more remote areas of the countryside and has lost the dominance it once had in the area. The specific divisions of the group are arguable. Because of the current conflict existing in the country, much of the information recovered is conflicting and should not be taken as absolutely reliable. Some of the believed divisions or "fronts", as they are commonly call them, are shown below. It is worth noting that many of these fronts sometimes work together towards a certain mission, while others are further divided into "columns" and "companies" with a smaller number of members. For more general information see FARC-EP Chain of Command.

[edit] Commanders

[edit] 5th Front

Also known as the Antonio Nariño Front, this front is composed by up to 350 combatants and operates mostly in the Urabá region of the Antioquia Department.

[edit] 9th Front

Also known as the Atanasio Girardot Front, this front is composed 45 to 50^[3] combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia Department. The Colombian military claims that this front has now been dismantled.^[4]

[edit] 18th Front

This front is composed by up to 150 combatants and operates mostly in the Córdoba Department.

[edit] 34th Front

Also known as the Alberto Martínez Front, this front is composed by up to 250 combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia Department.

[edit] 36th Front

This front is composed by up to 160 combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia Department.

[edit] 47th Front

Also known as the Leonardo Posada Pedraza, this front is composed by up to 90 combatants and operates mostly in the Caldas and Antioquia Departments. The Colombian military claimed in 2008 that this front had been dismantled.^[10]

On May 19th, 2008, Karina surrendered herself to the Colombian authorities, two weeks after president Uribe guaranteed her safety on her surrender. According to the governor of Antioquia, Luis Alfredo Ramos, she was also urged by her family to surrender. ^[13]

[edit] 57th Front

This front is composed by up to 250 combatants, and operates mostly in the Chocó Department.

[edit] 58th Front

Also known as the Mártires de las Canas Front, this front is composed by up to 150 combatants and operates mostly in the Antioquia and Córdoba Departments.

[edit] Jacobo Arenas Urban Front

This urban front is considered FARC's greatest influence in the Medellín region.

[edit] Columns and Companies

The following columns and companies also form part of the Northwestern Bloc:

• Company Aurelio Rodríguez: Composed by up to 110 combatants, this company operates in the Risaralda and Caldas Departments and is led by Martín Cruz Vega, alias "Rubin Morro". One of its highest ranking militants, Jesús González Cardona, alias "Osama", was captured in 2007.
• Company Héroes y Mártires del Cairo operates in the Antioquia Department.

[edit] See also

v • d • e Colombian Armed Conflict and Solution
Participants in Colombian armed conflict			Timeline	Key aspects
			• Separation of Panama from Colombia • Banana Massacre (1928) • La Violencia (1948-1958) • Marquetalia Republic • The National Front • Dominican embassy (1980) • Palace of Justice (1985) • Patriotic Union Party extermination • Humanitarian exchange • Mapiripán Massacre (1997) • Peace process (1999-2002) • Bojayá massacre (2002) • Valle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisis (2002-Present) • El Nogal Club bombing (2003) • Parapolitics scandal (2006–7) • Operation Emmanuel • Andean diplomatic crisis (2008) • Operation Jaque	Lawsuits  • Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola (2001) • Rodriquez v. Drummond (2003) • Doe v. Chiquita (2007)  Kidnappings  • Kidnappings in Colombia • List of political hostages held by FARC  Illegal drug trade  • Illegal drug trade in Colombia • War on Drugs • Narcoterrorism  Government aspects  • Democratic security • Plan Colombia • Plan Patriota • U.S.-Colombia relations • Human rights in Colombia • Politics of Colombia
Guerrillas	Government of Colombia	Paramilitaries
• ELN • FARC-EP • EPL Former guerrillas • M19 • MOEC • CGSB • ERP • Ricardo Franco Front Linked to • PCCC • Foro de São Paulo • Cuban revolutionaries • Provisional IRA • ANNCOL • Fighters + Lovers • Colombian drug cartels • Some politicians	Military of Colombia: National Army Air Force Navy Colombian Naval Infantry National Police Other: DAS intelligence Attorney General units Former government program • CONVIVIR Linked to • DynCorp International • United Nations • United States • European Union	• Águilas Negras Former paramilitaries • AUC • AAA Linked to • Spearhead Ltd • Colombian drug cartels • CONVIVIR • Some Colombian military personnel • Some politicians
	Colombian armed conflict at Wiktionary  Colombian armed conflict at Wikibooks      Colombian armed conflict at Wikiquote  Colombian armed conflict at Wikisource       Colombian armed conflict at Commons  Colombian armed conflict at Wikinews

[edit] References