Hope, Peace, and Liberty ( es, Esperanza, Paz y Libertad) is a Colombian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

. The party was created in 1991, when the

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...

Popular Liberation Army The Popular Liberation Army ( es, Ejército Popular de Liberación, ''EPL'') is a Colombian anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group created in 1967. Most of its former members demobilized in 1991, forming the Esperanza, Paz y Libe ...

( or ''EPL'') demobilized. The demobilized members formed a kept the

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

EPL in forming Hope Peace and Liberty. The party was active mostly in

Antioquia Department ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

and

Córdoba Department Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...

. However, some maverick remnants of the guerrilla still operate as so. While most members of the Popular Liberation Army demobilized and joined Hope, Peace, and Liberty, some members refused to demobilize and formed the Popular Liberation Army - Dissident Line (Ejército Popular de Liberación - Línea Disidente). This violent splinter group has killed Hope, Peace, and Liberty members, whom they consider traitors to the revolutionary cause. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army (FARC-EP) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) likewise consider Hope, Peace, and Liberty to be enemies of their revolutions; according to a report by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, "the FARC and its urban militias were believed responsible for 204 murders of Esperanza members and amnestied EPL guerrillas from 1991 to 1995."Human Rights Watch. ''War Without Quarter: Colombia and International Humanitarian Law.'' 1998.
Available online
Accessed September 28, 2006.

Notes

External links

Official webpage of Hope, Peace, and Liberty
1991 establishments in Colombia Communist parties in Colombia Defunct communist parties Defunct political parties in Colombia Political parties established in 1991 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing {{Colombia-party-stub