Geographical-political determinants of guerrilla violent actions: An analysis of the spatial concurrence of guerrillas and paramilitaries in the Colombian conflict

The spatial analysis of violence has gained specific relevance in peace and conflict resolution research in recent years, what has shed light on how armed conflicts arise, how they evolve and what factors affect their transformation. Regarding the Colombian case more in particular, this possibility is still to be developed and has mainly focused on the spatial relationship of armed groups with their main sources of funding, disregarding different possibilities such as the dispute over territory with other armed groups or against the State. Taking into consideration this gap in the literature, this article addresses an aspect of the Colombian conflict that has been scarcely studied so far, namely, what happened when paramilitaries and guerrillas coincided in time and place? The predominant response attributed to paramilitarism a victory wherever it disputed the local power to the guerrilla. However, taking as a reference two enclaves such as the north-east and south-west of Colombia, where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) are deeply rooted, the article tries to refute the alleged displacement effect attributed to paramilitarism. This is done by analyzing the data provided by the Observatory on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (ODHDIH) attached to the Vice-Presidency of the Republic, and examining the dynamics of guerrilla activism, which show how paramilitarism was not enough to displace the guerrillas from the tenclaves of their deepest roots and control.