Number of Kidnappings in Colombia Down by 92% Since 2000 - Special Police Unit

The number of people kidnapped in Colombia has decreased by 92 percent since the beginning of 2000, Fernando Murillo, the counter-kidnapping police force's chief, said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Police have attributed the "historic shift" to improved security and the November peace deal signed by the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group, the BBC broadcaster reported.

Only 188 people were abducted this year, Gen. Murillo stated, adding that the FARC had not carried out kidnappings in 2016.

According to Murillo, 88 percent of the kidnappings in 2016 were committed by "common criminals." A further 11 percent were carried out by organized crime gangs and 1 percent by Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).

The FARC rebel group was established in 1964 as the military wing of Colombia's Communist Party. Since then, military confrontation between FARC and the Colombian government have resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people. The group had been notorious for kidnapping soldiers and police officers and holding them hostage and carrying out large-scale kidnappings of civilians for ransom.

After four years of peace talks, in November the two sides signed a peace deal ending 52 years of armed conflict.