Communism in Colombia

The history of communism in Colombia dates back to the 1920s and has its roots in the ideas of the Russian October Revolution. Several self-proclaimed communist guerrilla groups including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), state that they seek to seize state power in Colombia through violent means. Organizations such as the ELN, have continued their decades-long conflict with the United States-backed Colombian government.

Many historians and social scientists, including Charles Bergquist and David Bushnell, who have studied Colombia's modern history, have noted the influence and intervention of both the United States and the Soviet Union in efforts to hinder or promote the spread of communism in the country.

Some important figures in the history of communism in Colombia include Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Jaime Pardo Leal, Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Jaime Bateman Cayón, among others. Many of these figures were eventually assassinated. According to critics, there is evidence that the Colombian Army and the Central Intelligence Agency were complicit in some of these assassinations.