Black Eagles ( es, Águilas Negras) is a term describing a series of Colombian drug trafficking, right-wing,

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revolut ...

, paramilitary organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, who emerged from the failures of the demobilization process between 2004 and 2006, which aimed to disarm the United Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC). The Black Eagles were first considered to be a third generation of paramilitary groups, but

Colombian military The Military Forces of Colombia ( es, Fuerzas Militares de Colombia, links=no) are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. They consist of the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian Air Force. The National Police of C ...

reports suggest they are intermediaries in the drug business between the guerrilla and drug cartels outside Colombia. As of 2007, they were reported active in the city of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja is a city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOPETROL. Barrancabermeja ...

Origins

The Black Eagles first appeared in the

Norte de Santander North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) () is a department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. North Santander is bordered by Vene ...

area in 2006. On 18 October 2006,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

openly ordered their detention. The government ordered the creation of a new

Search Bloc The Search Bloc ( es, Bloque de Búsqueda) is the name of three different ad hoc special operations units of the National Police of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia). They were originally organized with a focus on capturing or killing h ...

against the Black Eagles and classified them as a gang of former

paramilitaries A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

.Nine presumed members of the Águilas Negras captured
ejercito.mil.co; accessed 20 August 2007. The Black Eagles are one of a number of groups formed following the demilitarisation of the AUC, and are said to be closely linked with the Usuga Clan drug cartel and right-wing neo-paramilitary group.

Drugs

The Black Eagles are closely associated with drug cartels and are involved in drug trafficking activities,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, racketeering and kidnapping. They have also attacked guerrilla members and suspected sympathizers. One individual accused of leading the Black Eagles was former AUC leader

Vicente Castaño José Vicente Castaño Gil aka El Profe (born July 2, 1957) is a former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing Colombian paramilitary organization. After demobilizing, he was accused of murdering his brother a ...

. Castaño later disappeared, believed to have been assassinated on the orders of

Diego Murillo Bejarano Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano (born 23 February 1961), also known as Don Berna or Adolfo Paz, is a former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group, as well as the leader of The Office of Envigado cartel. His squ ...

in retaliation for taking control of his territory and criminal rackets.

Groups

* ''

Los Rastrojos Los Rastrojos is a Colombian drug cartel and paramilitary group engaged in the Colombian armed conflict. The ...

'': operating in Cauca and Valle del Cauca. (Approximately 1200 members). * ''Mano Negra'': operating in Putumayo. (Unknown number of members)

References

External links

Colombia Reports: Aguilas Negras profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Eagles Organizations established in 2006 2006 establishments in Colombia Organizations disestablished in 2011 2011 disestablishments in Colombia Disbanded Colombian drug cartels Paramilitary organisations based in Colombia Far-right politics Anti-communist terrorism Bacrims Anti-communist organizations