The Colombian Air Force still uses the legendary Douglas C-47 - in the form of its Basler BT-67 turboprop conversion - as a gunship. Known as the Fantasma, these venerable aircraft continue to see action against local guerrillas as well as acting as command posts for anti-criminal operations. OF ALL THE countries in the Americas, Colombia has experienced the longest sustained period of internal conflict. While its war against communist guerrillas began in 1964, the roots of this strife go back to the late 1940s. Beginning in the late 1980s, FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional, National Liberation Army) guerrillas became increasingly entwined with drug traffickers, which financed them. Today these groups are direct participants in narcotics production. Furthermore, the guerrillas and other groups are involved in illegal mining, a growing problem in the jungles of Latin America.
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