section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: The National Liberation Army (Spanish: Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) is a far-left guerrilla insurgency group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocates a composite communist ideology of Marxism–Leninism and Latin American liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one-fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union.