SOAS Research Online

Abstract

According to the ‘rebels-turned-narcos’ premise, increasing involve- ment in the illicit drug industry causes insurgent groups to lose sight of their political aims, as they shift their focus to profit-making. The (former) Colombian rebel group, the FARC-EP, became a paragon for this idea. Drawing on primary research, we argue that the FARC-EP’s involvement in the illicit drug economy was itself political. Their involvement included governance activities, which are by their very nature political. Furthermore, these activities formed part of the FARC-EP’s political project, aimed at ensuring the reproduction of the peasant smallholder economy. Our argument challenges the reb- els-turned-narcos premise more broadly by showing why involve- ment in the illicit drug economy, on its own, is insufficient evidence to posit the depoliticization of an insurgent group.