Colombia abolished the death penalty in 1910

Colombia abolished the death penalty in 1910. The last execution took place in 1909. The 1886 Constitution does not provide for the death penalty neither does the revised Constitution introduced in 1991 that states at Art. 11: "The right to life is inviolable. There will be no death penalty." Colombia's civil conflict, which has taken more than 35,000 lives over the last decade, pits two leading Marxist rebel groups against government forces and the paramilitaries, which have killed with impunity for decades. Currently recognised as Latin America's biggest insurgent army, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) routinely reaps funds for its weapons purchases through kidnapping, blackmail and kickbacks from co-operation with drug traffickers. The guerrillas, who retreat to a safe haven in the south granted to them by the government of President Pastrana as an olive branch for peace talks, recently launched a recruitment drive to double their numbers. Towards this end, they also inaugurated a new political branch along the lines of Sinn Fein. The FARC leaders also vowed to increase ransoms by preying on wealthier Colombians, a move that set off a boom in prestigious bodyguards. When the government announced that a similar demilitarised zone in the north would be allotted to a second rebel group - the ELN or National Liberation Army - ordinary citizens who would be forced to live in the area under revolutionary justice took to the streets to protest. On average, eight people a day are abducted, the world's highest kidnap rate.