Black Eagles () was a term describing a series of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

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

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, that emerged from the failures of the

demobilization Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

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 A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

, but

Colombian military The Military Forces of Colombia () are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. They consist of the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian Aerospace Force. The National Police of Colombia, although technically not part ...

reports suggest they were intermediaries in the drug business between the

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

and drug cartels outside Colombia. As of 2007, they were reported to be active in the city of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja () is a municipality and 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 ECOP ...

. According to Fundación Paz y Reconciliación, Black Eagles ceased to exist around 2011. Since then, there is no evidence of an armed structure, camps or a military hierarchy; instead, the term ''Águilas Negras'' is used as a "franchise" by different, unrelated criminal gangs.

Origins

The Black Eagles first appeared in the

Norte de Santander Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern 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. Norte de Santander is bordere ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 Department, Antioquia. H ...

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

Search Bloc The Search Bloc () 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 highly dangerous individua ...

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

paramilitaries A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

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

Drugs

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

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

and

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

. They 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, also known as 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 h ...

. Castaño later disappeared, and is 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. Drug car ...

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 1,200 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