May 11, 1999
Web posted at: 3:55 a.m. EDT (0755 GMT)

BOGOTA (CNN) - Marxist rebels in Colombia have shown themselves to be quite capable capitalists, earning more than $5.3 billion over the last eight years through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, according to a report released Monday by the Colombian government.

The report, issued by the army and the government's National Planning Department, said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) -- the oldest and largest rebel groups in the hemisphere -- generated $2.3 billion from drugs alone from 1991 through 1998.

The report also said the guerrillas earned $1.8 billion from extortion and theft and more than $1.2 billion from ransom payments.

In comparison, the government's military budget during the same period totaled more than $12 billion, according to Defense Ministry figures.

The government's report said the total amount earned by the two groups was more than 5 trillion pesos worth, or $3.2 billion at the current exchange rate.

However, the real figure is higher when the exchange rate for the year in question is applied. The peso was nearly 2.5 times stronger in 1991 than it was at the end of last year.

With the combined force of the FARC and the ELN put at about 20,000, the government's figures would mean that each rebel had amassed some $265,000 in a country where the current minimum wage amounts to less than $2,000 per year.

The army report said just seven people in the FARC -- its ruling General Secretariat -- handle the bulk of the group's finances. Eight men in the ELN are said to have direct control of its funds. Each of these groups can be thought of as a sort of quasi-corporate "board of directors" for their respective rebel factions.

The FARC and the ELN admit to kidnapping, describing the abductions as "retentions" to raise war taxes. But they deny having any direct involvement with Colombia's huge cocaine and heroin trade.

President Andres Pastrana has launched a high-profile peace process with the FARC. But critics say the rebels have little intention of giving up what has become an extremely lucrative conflict.

Reuters contributed to this report.