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| How We Got to a Colombian Guerrilla Camp | How We Got to a Colombian Guerrilla Camp |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times. In this piece, Nicholas Casey describes the path he took to meet the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. | |
| The message came over WhatsApp, a picture of a handwritten note with the names of two remote towns in the Colombian mountains. | The message came over WhatsApp, a picture of a handwritten note with the names of two remote towns in the Colombian mountains. |
| “Read and erase,” the next message said. | “Read and erase,” the next message said. |
| The messages were from the photographer Federico Ríos, and they marked the start of a long journey to see the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the secretive Marxist rebels known as FARC who have fought a 50-year war against the Colombian government, during which thousands of civilians were killed, and that could soon be coming to an end if a peace deal is signed. | The messages were from the photographer Federico Ríos, and they marked the start of a long journey to see the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the secretive Marxist rebels known as FARC who have fought a 50-year war against the Colombian government, during which thousands of civilians were killed, and that could soon be coming to an end if a peace deal is signed. |
| It was an assignment that took us through those two towns and deep into the rebel-controlled jungles in the Colombian highlands. Our destination: a hide-out of 150 fighters where for four days we would document life in one of Latin America’s last remaining guerrilla camps. | It was an assignment that took us through those two towns and deep into the rebel-controlled jungles in the Colombian highlands. Our destination: a hide-out of 150 fighters where for four days we would document life in one of Latin America’s last remaining guerrilla camps. |
| We hired a pilot who took us to a remote airstrip and then hopped on motorcycles to ride for hours over gnarly dirt roads that few cars dare to travel. The way out was on horseback, with a dozen guerrilla fighters armed with Kalashnikov rifles, machetes and grenades. | We hired a pilot who took us to a remote airstrip and then hopped on motorcycles to ride for hours over gnarly dirt roads that few cars dare to travel. The way out was on horseback, with a dozen guerrilla fighters armed with Kalashnikov rifles, machetes and grenades. |
| The whole escapade seemed scripted for film — though what film, I can’t quite say. It all felt so serious, and yet it also felt a bit like the Woody Allen film “Bananas.” | The whole escapade seemed scripted for film — though what film, I can’t quite say. It all felt so serious, and yet it also felt a bit like the Woody Allen film “Bananas.” |
| IT BEGAN one night at a bar in Bogotá with Federico. Twice before he had gone to photograph the rebel fighters; I’d been taken by the pictures of life among the region’s last guerrillas. I proposed a third trip. This time it would be the two of us, visiting FARC with The Times for a story published today about life inside a Guerrilla Camp in Colombia. | IT BEGAN one night at a bar in Bogotá with Federico. Twice before he had gone to photograph the rebel fighters; I’d been taken by the pictures of life among the region’s last guerrillas. I proposed a third trip. This time it would be the two of us, visiting FARC with The Times for a story published today about life inside a Guerrilla Camp in Colombia. |
| “Let’s see what they say,” Federico said. | “Let’s see what they say,” Federico said. |
| Two weeks later he was in Havana, where the rebel and government negotiators spent the last three years negotiating a peace agreement that was meant to be signed March 23. Federico approached the guerrilla leaders on the sidelines and proposed the trip. They agreed and gave us a date: March 7. | Two weeks later he was in Havana, where the rebel and government negotiators spent the last three years negotiating a peace agreement that was meant to be signed March 23. Federico approached the guerrilla leaders on the sidelines and proposed the trip. They agreed and gave us a date: March 7. |
| The invitation sounded sincere. But we had to remember this was FARC, an organization, like Al Qaeda, listed by the United States as a group that sponsors terror. FARC made a name for itself by kidnapping civilians for decades and holding them captive, for years. | The invitation sounded sincere. But we had to remember this was FARC, an organization, like Al Qaeda, listed by the United States as a group that sponsors terror. FARC made a name for itself by kidnapping civilians for decades and holding them captive, for years. |
| FARC, of course, had its own concerns about our scheduled meeting. | FARC, of course, had its own concerns about our scheduled meeting. |
| It was scheduled to take place just a couple of months after the Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo,” met his downfall after he agreed to an interview with Sean Penn. The Colombian government had agreed to talks with FARC — but not to a cease-fire — and it was, of course, possible the rebels would be attacked during our visit. | It was scheduled to take place just a couple of months after the Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo,” met his downfall after he agreed to an interview with Sean Penn. The Colombian government had agreed to talks with FARC — but not to a cease-fire — and it was, of course, possible the rebels would be attacked during our visit. |
| Hence Federico’s instructions: “Read and erase” the names of the two towns we would pass through on the journey. The second town would be our meeting point. It was so remote that it was not on any of our maps. Our instructions were to head there and wait. | Hence Federico’s instructions: “Read and erase” the names of the two towns we would pass through on the journey. The second town would be our meeting point. It was so remote that it was not on any of our maps. Our instructions were to head there and wait. |
| For whom? | For whom? |
| “For them,” said Federico. “They’ll know when we’re there.” | “For them,” said Federico. “They’ll know when we’re there.” |
| From what we could tell, FARC, which rules much of the countryside, was in control of the second town. | From what we could tell, FARC, which rules much of the countryside, was in control of the second town. |
| Our plane, a three-seat Cessna, revved up on the tarmac before dawn. Colombia’s population is scattered across cities and a countryside with few working roads. Many villages are reachable only by river. Tiny planes can be a godsend in a country that can feel like an archipelago on land. | Our plane, a three-seat Cessna, revved up on the tarmac before dawn. Colombia’s population is scattered across cities and a countryside with few working roads. Many villages are reachable only by river. Tiny planes can be a godsend in a country that can feel like an archipelago on land. |
| We took off just as the sun was rising over the Andes Mountains. The city spread below like a vast carpet that abruptly stopped at the edge of giant green forests. | We took off just as the sun was rising over the Andes Mountains. The city spread below like a vast carpet that abruptly stopped at the edge of giant green forests. |
| Traces of state control disappeared as we crossed city limits. Ahead was a jigsaw puzzle of competing powers — guerrillas, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and the military. Each struggles against the others, each group has its own (often competing) goals. | Traces of state control disappeared as we crossed city limits. Ahead was a jigsaw puzzle of competing powers — guerrillas, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and the military. Each struggles against the others, each group has its own (often competing) goals. |
| We landed on an airstrip outside the first town on the WhatsApp message; there was but a small runway in the forest. And no control tower. | We landed on an airstrip outside the first town on the WhatsApp message; there was but a small runway in the forest. And no control tower. |
| The paramilitaries seemed to hold sway in the gold-mining town where we spent the night. Graffiti on the walls praising paramilitary groups. If anyone asked, we were not there to write about FARC. The writing was, after all, on the wall: The town appeared to be aligned with the very groups that wanted to kill guerrillas. | The paramilitaries seemed to hold sway in the gold-mining town where we spent the night. Graffiti on the walls praising paramilitary groups. If anyone asked, we were not there to write about FARC. The writing was, after all, on the wall: The town appeared to be aligned with the very groups that wanted to kill guerrillas. |
| But no one asked. Hauling our backpacks and wearing Timberland boots, we probably looked like the gold miners who were wandering between the region’s open-air pits, looking for work in a town that looked like a Wild West outpost. As we traversed the dusty roads, we passed general stores where you could buy pickaxes and headlamps and where two calves — for sale — napped under the shade of pickup truck. | But no one asked. Hauling our backpacks and wearing Timberland boots, we probably looked like the gold miners who were wandering between the region’s open-air pits, looking for work in a town that looked like a Wild West outpost. As we traversed the dusty roads, we passed general stores where you could buy pickaxes and headlamps and where two calves — for sale — napped under the shade of pickup truck. |
| We consulted a few people on the way out. We were told that no cars could navigate these roads. | We consulted a few people on the way out. We were told that no cars could navigate these roads. |
| We had two options. We could hire a jeep, a line of which were parked near the plaza. They looked military grade and like they had been through war on these roads. But they occasionally got stuck in the mud. | We had two options. We could hire a jeep, a line of which were parked near the plaza. They looked military grade and like they had been through war on these roads. But they occasionally got stuck in the mud. |
| Our other option was to hire motorcycles. The ride would be much bumpier, but there was less risk of getting trapped somewhere. And so, at 5 a.m, we headed out for the last leg of the journey, a four-hour ride through a sparsely populated area. | Our other option was to hire motorcycles. The ride would be much bumpier, but there was less risk of getting trapped somewhere. And so, at 5 a.m, we headed out for the last leg of the journey, a four-hour ride through a sparsely populated area. |
| Some hours into our ride we saw a sign hanging off a home. | Some hours into our ride we saw a sign hanging off a home. |
| “FARC-Ejército del Pueblo,” it said. “FARC – People’s Army.” We were getting close. | “FARC-Ejército del Pueblo,” it said. “FARC – People’s Army.” We were getting close. |
| We came across the second town, a small outpost of a few dozen homes where we were to meet the guerrillas. A cowboy whipped a team of mules hauling cut timber when we passed. The cowboy didn’t look up at us. No one did. | We came across the second town, a small outpost of a few dozen homes where we were to meet the guerrillas. A cowboy whipped a team of mules hauling cut timber when we passed. The cowboy didn’t look up at us. No one did. |
| What now? Who would come to show us the way? | What now? Who would come to show us the way? |
| Federico and I settled into a small restaurant and waited. | Federico and I settled into a small restaurant and waited. |
| Plates of beans, eggs and rice arrived. A couple of miners walked in and said hello. They ordered, too. The waitress — who was also the cook — mixed some instant coffee for herself. I felt drowsiness settling in, and after a few minutes I was fast asleep in a plastic chair. | Plates of beans, eggs and rice arrived. A couple of miners walked in and said hello. They ordered, too. The waitress — who was also the cook — mixed some instant coffee for herself. I felt drowsiness settling in, and after a few minutes I was fast asleep in a plastic chair. |
| I don’t know how long passed before I felt Federico nudging me awake. | I don’t know how long passed before I felt Federico nudging me awake. |
| There was the roar of motorcycles, a flash of dull green camouflage and the glint of rifles outside the door. | There was the roar of motorcycles, a flash of dull green camouflage and the glint of rifles outside the door. |
| They were here. | They were here. |