The Guevarista Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario Guevarista, ERG) was a revolutionary, guerrilla group operating in Colombia. It formed in 1992 as an offshoot of the ELN. It was named after and inspired by the Argentine Che Guevara. Despite it being an offshoot of the ELN and employing tactics such as kidnapping, the ERG is not designated or watched as a terrorist organization by the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada or Russia, only by the Government of Colombia. Location The ERG's membership was 45 persons in the day of their surrender. It does not operate nationwide and is considerably smaller than the two main guerrilla groups in Colombia, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army. It was active in the Departments of Chocó, Risaralda, and Antioquia. Claimed attacks In 1997, the group reportedly asked $500,000 in ransom for six people the group kidnapped from a commercial helicopter in Antioquia. The helicopter was loaded with explosives, and the group reportedly placed mines in the location the people were taken. Three of the individuals kidnapped were recovered on July 30, unharmed, and the group released the helicopter to Colombian troops. On July 27, 2000 (some sources claim the kidnapping occurred on July 25), ERG gunmen kidnapped a member of Doctors Without Borders. The hostage was a French aid worker, and it is unknown what happened to the hostage. After 88 days, the Doctors without Borders volunteer, Ignacio de Torquemada, was released from captivity. The doctor reported that most of his kidnappers were between 15–20 years old, In particular, he was quoted as calling them a bunch of “boys." On August 21, 2001, Joseph Stocker, a Swedish engineer, was reportedly kidnapped by the ERG. Stocker was reportedly on vacation during the time the kidnapping took place. It occurred in the town of Carmen de Atrato. In 2002, the former governor of Choco was reportedly kidnapped by the group. On December 17, 2005, it carried out a joint attack on Colombian police forces in the village of San Marino, with the two larger groups which killed at least six police officers. The group is known to operate mostly in Chocó. The ERG has engaged in kidnapping in the past. On February 9, 2007, a Colombian National Army captain held hostage for three years by the group was freed. Notable members Olimpo de Jesús Sánchez Caro- Olimpo, known