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Effects and Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Intelligence Measures to Counter Homegrown Terrorism: A Case Study on the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN)

Abstract:
This qualitative case study describes how law enforcement intelligence measures were used to counter the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN), a Puerto Rican clandestine paramilitary organization of Marxist-Leninist orientation that emerged in New York in1974 and claimed responsibility for over 100 attacks in the United States and Puerto Rico (primarily in New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC). From a counterterrorism perspective, this study is of particular interest for two reasons. First, the FALN provides a unique example of a homegrown terrorist group that was particularly violent during the period when it was active, but eventually desisted. Second, a range of different strategies was used to counter the FALN threat, including judicial and legal, political and governance, and police and prison systems, which may have variously affected the activities and organization of this terrorist group.

Publication Information

Full Citation:

Belli, Roberta. 2012. "Effects and Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Intelligence Measures to Counter Homegrown Terrorism: A Case Study on the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN)." College Park, MD: START (July). 

START Author(s):