FARC

An acronym for "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia", or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. It is South America's largest revolutionary organization.

It was established in 1959, at the time of the Cuban Revolution. In 1964, it took armed action against the Colombian government with support from the Soviet Union. Although FARC signed a peace treaty with the government in 1984 and participated in political affairs for a time, violence continued, and the organization returned to guerrilla activities. The group grew 20,000 strong by the 1990s, and was feared for its involvement in the drug trade.

Sometime around 1964, the FARC handed over San Hieronymo Peninsula to the Soviet Union in exchange for supplying the group with weapons. The Soviets established an IRBM facility on the peninsula, and began development of Metal Gear RAXA and a ballistic Metal Gear.