because it perceived the Colombian government as an enemy because of historical politically motivated violence against its members and supporters, including members of the Patriotic Union, a FARC–EP-created political party. Territorial operations The largest concentrations of FARC–EP guerrillas were located in the southeastern parts of Colombia's of jungle and in the plains at the base of the Andean mountains. However, the FARC and the ELN lost control of much of their territory, especially in urban areas, forcing them to relocate to remote areas in the jungle and the mountains. Relations between the FARC-EP and local populations vary greatly depending on the history and specific characteristics of each region. In rural areas where the guerrillas have maintained a continuous presence for several decades, there are often organic links between the FARC and peasant communities. Such ties include shared generational membership and historical struggles dating back to the period of La Violencia. These areas have traditionally been located in the departments of Caquetá, Meta, Guaviare and Putumayo, and – to a lesser extent – portions of Huila, Tolima and Nariño. Within remote locations under FARC control and where the national government is generally absent, the group can function as a revolutionary vanguard and institutes its de facto rule of law by carrying out activities that aim to combat corruption and reduce small-scale crime. The FARC had also been able to provide limited social services in these regions, such as health care and education, including building minor infrastructure works in the form of rural roads. Peasants who have grown up in areas under historical FARC control may become accustomed to accepting them as the local authority. The guerrillas also attempt to keep the peace between peasants and drug traffickers in addition to regulating other aspects of daily life and economics. In other rural regions of the country, where a FARC presence had only been established within the last twenty years of the conflict and primarily remained military in nature, there was often a level of distrust between FARC rebels and the local peasant communities, which lack historical ties to the group. Civilians in these locations also tended to get caught in the middle of the conflict between FARC and its government or paramilitary opponents. In the populated urban areas where the Colombian state has maintained a solid historical presence, some FARC sympathies may have existed in the poorest neighborhoods and among certain progressive