Popular Liberation Army

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Popular Liberation Army Ejército Popular de Liberación
Flag of the EPL
Leaders	David León (captured), Francisco Caraballo (captured), Megateo †
Dates of operation	1967–present
Active regions	Colombia, mostly in Norte de Santander
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism Stalinism Hoxhaism Anti-revisionism
Political position	Far-left
Size	132 (official estimate as of 2017)[1]
Part of	Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board[2]

The Popular Liberation Army (Spanish: 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 Libertad (Hope, Peace, and Liberty) party, but a dissident faction, formerly led by Megateo, known as "Los Pelusos", continue operating. On June 22, 1994, Francisco Caraballo, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Colombia (M–L) and Commander in Chief of the People's Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberación, EPL), was arrested along with his wife, son and several other EPL members.^[3] Víctor Ramon Navarro Cervano, alias "Megateo," the leader of the last faction of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), was killed in a military and police operation in Norte de Santander department in 2015.^[4] On December 15, 2016, Megateo's successor Guillermo León Aguirre, alias “David León,” was captured in Medellín.^[1] 40 days after the capture of David León, the body of his successor Jade Navarro Barbaso, alias “Caracho,” was still not found after disappearing.^[1]

By 2017, the group was estimated to have only 132 members and only had a presence in 10 municipalities of Catatumbo, located in the department of Norte de Santander.^[1] It has also been reported that some people identifying themselves as EPL members were actually FARC dissidents.^[1]