The armed groups in Colombia: the ELN, the Gaitanista self-defence forces and the FARC dissidences
Background
The National Liberation Army, in Spanish Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional or ELN, is estimated at between 2,500 and almost 6,200 members and operates in north-western, south-western and eastern departments and near the Venezuelan border.
The Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, also called the Gulf Clan or Clan del Golfo, is estimated at between 1,200 and 9,000 members and is reported present in more than 200 of Colombia's 1,123 municipalities, with traditional strongholds in Antioquia, Choco and Cordoba.
Groups formed by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who did not demobilise include the Estado Mayor Central and the Segunda Marquetalia; FARC dissident groups have a presence in 119 municipalities, almost 11 per cent of the country's total.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, demobilised following the peace accord with the government, after which dissident factions re-formed.
All armed groups and criminal gangs together are estimated at between 17,600 and 36,000 members.
In plain words
ELN Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional, the National Liberation Army — A Colombian armed group active mainly in the country's north-west, south-west and east.
FARC Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — The guerrilla group that demobilised under the peace accord with the Colombian government.