The history of Socialism in Colombia goes back as far as the 1920s and has its roots in the ideas of the Russian October Revolution. Today guerrilla groups, self-proclaimed communists, state that they want to seize state power in Colombia by violent means, and organizations such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) continue their four decades old war with the United States-backed Colombian government. Many social science experts around the world who have studied historical events in Colombia note the influence and intervention, as in many other South American countries, of the United States and of the Soviet Union, to stop or enhance, given the case, communism in Colombia. Some important figures in the history of communism in Colombia are Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Jaime Pardo Leal, Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Jaime Bateman Cayón, among others. Many of these figures were persecuted or eventually assassinated. According to critics, evidence of the involvement of members of the Colombian Army and of United States organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency was present in many cases. History In the early 20th century, Colombia was linked to the international economy through its mass exportation of coffee, minerals, fruits, and even oil. Such exportations paired with importation of European goods, international loans, and the presence of international companies, such as the United Fruit Company and Tropical Oil Company, created a booming Colombian economy. However, Colombian society still consisted mainly of poor laborers living in rural, undeveloped land. Further burdening the booming nation, was a history of civil wars and political corruption which pit the liberal and conservative factions of Colombian governance against one another to the detriment of the public. This set the stage for a laborer uprising inspired by the Russian October Revolution. Origins of Socialist Ideology The labor movement in Colombia was marked by the differences it held compared to movements in other Latin American countries. While socialist ideology in countries like Argentina and Brazil were influenced by European immigration, Colombia had no such connection to left-wing European ideologies. Rather, the labor movements in Colombia were inspired by the disconnect laborers felt with the major political parties. The perceived lack of representation led to the creation of Colombia's first Socialist party in 1919. The creation of the party, inspired by Bolshevik ideology and the end of the first World War, was led by Colombian intellectuals and left wing media. Among these