Transnational insurgents: Evidence from Colombia's FARC at the border with Chavez's Venezuela

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Martinez, Luis R.
• 署名单位: University of Chicago
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.01.003
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 138-153
• 关键词: civil conflict; Foreign influence; Irregular warfare; FARC; Hugo Chavez

摘要

Many insurgent groups operate across international borders, but transnational insurgent activities are seldom observable and little is known about their consequences. In this paper I show that activity by Colombian insurgent group FARC increased disproportionately in Colombian municipalities next to the border with Venezuela after Hugo Chavez became president of the latter. I argue that FARC's reliance on short-range weaponry and non-mechanized transportation limited the area in which the group could expand its operations as a result of access to a cross-border safe haven. In consequence, the finding above constitutes evidence of increased FARC presence in Venezuela during the Chavez administration. Exploiting the plausibly exogenous change of government in Venezuela, I find that Colombian municipalities more exposed to a cross-border guerrilla sanctuary experience large increases in the intensity of violence, as well as reductions in local tax revenue and educational enrolment.