section_path: Activities
section_name: Activities
paragraph_text: Activities
  
  The U.S. State Department has listed the ELN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization because of its reputation for ransom kidnappings and armed attacks on Colombia's infrastructure. In April 2004, the European Union added the ELN to its list of terrorist organizations for those actions and its breaches of humanitarian law.
  
  The ELN's main source of income are businesses and middle class civilians in its areas of operation. To enforce these "taxes", they frequently take civilians captive to use as leverage. While the ELN uses the terms "war taxes" and "retentions" for these actions, critics insist they constitute "extortion" and "kidnapping".
  
  According to Claudia Calle, spokesperson for País Libre, a Colombian foundation for victims of abductions, 153 hostages had died "in the hands of the ELN" between 2000 and 2007. According to País Libre, ELN abducted over 3,000 people between 2000 and 2007.