Incident Summary:
12/17/2001: The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)attacked a prison in Florencia, Colombia. An estimated 200 rebels took part in the attack. They attacked the prison in a bold bid to free jailed comrades, but were repelled by guards and government forces. Three inmates were killed, while five other inmates were wounded in the attack. Five guards were also wounded in the attack. Nine inmates escaped through a hole that the rebels had blasted in the prison wall.
Overview
GTD ID:
200112170005
When:
2001-12-17
Country:
Colombia
Region:
South America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Caqueta
City:
Florencia
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Type of Attack () |
Facility/Infrastructure Attack |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Police |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Colombian Prison Ward |
| Specific Description |
Florencia Prison |
| Nationality of Target |
Colombia |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Explosives |
Grenade |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
At the time of the attack the Florencia prison held 1,100 inmates, many of them were convicted or accused members of FARC. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
200 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
3 Fatalities / 9 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
3 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Total Number of Injured |
9 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| “FARC Attack Prison in Florencia," El Tiempo, December 18, 2001. |
| “Rebels Attack Colombian Prison," Associated Press, December 18, 2001. |
| “Guards repel attack by hundreds of guerrillas on Colombia jail," Associated Press, December 18, 2001. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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